Another ’welcome to Chel’ for Arsene

The Galatasaray supporters in the Emirates the other night were certainly doing their best to try and import a little of that old ‘welcome to hell’ spirit from Istanbul to north London.

But fighting flair with flares proved fruitless, as a far more respectful attitude from their players on the pitch allowed Arsenal to turn on the style and Danny Welbeck to grab the first hat-trick of his senior career.

On the face of it, the performance and result — a thumping 4-1 victory — seemed like a real statement of intent: Arsenal’s creative midfielders and wide men supplying the precision-guided ammunition for a striker whose finishing shots were unerringly on target.