West Bromwich, England: Danny Welbeck's powerful header gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday as the London club rebounded after back-to-back Premier League losses.
Welbeck scored in the 60th minute when Santi Cazorla ran toward the byline and chipped it back in front of goal. Welbeck soared above the West Brom defense and headed past Ben Foster despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.
"The clean sheet is very important and we always believed in ourselves to score goals so it was a vital three points for us," Welbeck said.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Cazorla for setting up Welbeck and securing the win, which leaves the Gunners fighting for a place in the Premier League's top four. Arsenal provisionally moved into sixth place with 20 points after 13 matches, while West Brom went into 14th place with 13 points.
"Cazorla's class got us that goal," Wenger said. "He had a few opportunities in the first half. He cannot finish at the moment, but in providing he is still top class."
Saturday's result was West Brom's third successive loss, with the team failing to score in those defeats.
The Baggies did, however, give Arsenal a couple of scares toward the end at the Hawthorns. Saido Berahino's header crashed against the crossbar in the 81st — with the striker starting the match despite being charged with drunk driving and not informing his club about it until around a month later. A shot by Craig Gardner flashed just wide of the near post in the 90th.
"We got close to getting something," West Brom manager Alan Irvine said. "We were committing a lot of people forward and put Arsenal under pressure at the end. We started the game well and Arsenal looked a threat on the counter, but then we lost that control."
Arsenal's win came after a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. Prior to that win, Arsenal lost to Manchester United and Swansea in the league.
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey hopes Arsenal can generate momentum after two consecutive clean sheets.
"It was important to build on midweek and keep this run going and it is nice to win again," Ramsey said. "It was never going to be easy with the quick turnaround but we did well, we dug in and got the three points.
