Alex Iwobi celebrated Nigeria’s 57th Independence Day with a goal against Brighton & Hove Albion. It was his first since January and capped up the celebrations in Africa’s most populous nation. Nacho Monreal opened the scoring as Arsenal saw off the newly promoted side. It was his first ever Emirates goal.
A Go at The Stats
- Nacho Monreal’s goal was his first ever at Emirates Stadium, his first Premier League strike since March 2013 and his first goal for us since the Emirates FA Cup semi-final in April.
- Alex Lacazette was the width of a post from scoring in his first four home league appearances. The last Arsenal player to do that was Jackie Henderson in 1958.
- We are now unbeaten in our last 32 league matches against newly-promoted sides (W27, D5).
- On his 21st anniversary as our manager, Arsene Wenger recorded victory over a 45th different Premier League club – a new record.
- We’ve won nine successive Premier League home games since March – matching our all-time record at Emirates Stadium.
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Alex Iwobi’s goal was his first in the Premier League since January
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We’ve kept four straight league clean sheets since our 4-0 defeat at Liverpool last month.Not a bad way to go for an international break. Iwobi can continue scoring when he resumes duties for Nigeria. He scored against Zambia in the first leg. He can do so again in Uyo.
I sat at the Clock End as a father led his son to their seats. The lad was about 6-8 years old and was timid. His father with pride said to me “it’s his first game”. “Congratulations” I and Deon cheered the son in his baptism. It was also my first baptism at the Emirates – although not my first game. It was a beauty to behold and I wished i could fellowship there every weekend. I wanted a 3-0 win but a 2-0 win isn’t bad. Apart from the ticket price, everything went fine – meeting Deon, chanting, clapping, snapping, and eating burgers. Deon made me do the last of that list – smile. One list ticked off.
Stats and photo from Arsenal.com
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