Welbeck provides Hammer blow as Gunners march on
DANNY WELBECK scored the only goal of a forgettable game as Arsenal booked a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals at the expense of West Ham. The pair had shared a goalless draw in their Premier League meeting at the London Stadium last week but this time out, with both sides fielding very different line-ups, it was Welbeck who made the difference to seal a slender win. The 27-year-old will not care how the goal came about as he got on the scoresheet for the first time since his double against Bournemouth on September 9. It proved to be enough to book Arsene Wenger’s side their first League Cup semi-final place in six years as West Ham offered very little in the way of goal threat. Wenger made wholesale alterations as he introduced an entirely different starting XI to that which toiled to victory over Newcastle on Saturday. The likes of Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin and Welbeck were again given the chance to stake a claim for a place in the Gunners’ Premier League line-up. West Ham, too, made changes, with David Moyes bringing in six new faces as Joe Hart returned in goal. Manuel Lanzini missed out having been handed a two-match ban earlier yesterday having been adjudged to have dived in the weekend win at Stoke. Walcott wasted a fine first-half chance, heading a Sead Kolasinac cross wide when picked out free in front of goal. The deadlock was broken in the 42nd minute as Welbeck bundled home from close-range after Mathieu Debuchy had headed Coquelin’s pass across goal to find the England international. ‘Our performance was honest — what we lacked was quality,’ said Moyes. ‘We played Arsenal over two games and we conceded one goal — and it wasn’t an Arsenal-type goal.’