London // Danny Welbeck savoured the moment after crowning his comeback from a 10-month injury lay-off with a 95th-minute winner for Arsenal against Premier League leaders Leicester City on Sunday.
Sidelined since April last year with a serious knee injury, the 25-year-old England striker came off the bench to head in Mesut Ozil’s last-ditch free-kick and give the hosts a dramatic 2-1 win.
It was the former Manchester United player’s first league goal since December 2014 and it reignited Arsenal’s title challenge, lifting them to within two points of Leicester with 12 games remaining.
“Dying seconds, we kept pushing, had chance after chance,” Welbeck told Sky Sports.
“I missed the first opportunity and tried to make amends. It is important and the most important thing is to get the win.
“It has been a rollercoaster for me, a difficult moment, and my family and friends know what I have been through.”
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Welbeck’s fellow substitute Theo Walcott, whose 70th-minute goal cancelled out Jamie Vardy’s penalty opener for Leicester, paid tribute to his England colleague.
“This man hasn’t played for nine months and to get into the mix like that, special players come into big games,” he said. “That could be massive.”
Welbeck’s goal, after fellow substitute Theo Walcott had cancelled out Jamie Vardy’s first-half penalty, saw Arsene Wenger’s men complete a league double over Leicester following their 5-2 win in September.
Claudio Ranieri’s men now have two weeks to regain their strength before resuming their improbable title bid at home to Norwich City, while Arsenal must prepare for contests with Hull City and Barcelona.
Manchester City never recovered from falling behind to Leicester in their 3-1 defeat last weekend and Arsenal seemed determined to avoid the same fate, quickly pushing the visitors onto the back foot.
With less than two minutes gone, Alexis Sanchez threw himself at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s corner and headed wide, with N’Golo Kante surviving a penalty-box handball appeal shortly after.
Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel then raced out boldly to prevent Aaron Ramsey reaching Ozil’s pass and within seconds Vardy had forced Petr Cech to save with a downward header at the other end.
It proved the pattern of the first half. Arsenal attacked -- Wes Morgan blocking from Olivier Giroud and Sanchez, Giroud twice heading off-target at corners -- and Leicester countered, Kante obliging Cech to claw the ball away from his top-left corner with a curling shot.
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As half-time drew Leicester went ahead, Vardy luring Nacho Monreal into a challenge and then tumbling to the ground before picking himself up and slotting his 19th goal of the season past Cech.
The Leicester end erupted. Arsenal’s fans, convinced that referee Martin Atkinson had been hoodwinked by Vardy, booed the officials off at the interval.
There was a further blow for the hosts at half-time as Laurent Koscielny was forced off with a dead leg, which brought Calum Chambers into the fray.
Arsenal might have conceded another penalty when Riyad Mahrez threw himself to the deck after being nicked by Monreal, but referee Atkinson shook hs head.
Instead, after Ramsey had drilled wide and Giroud had headed another chance over, their luck changed when Simpson was shown a second yellow card for tugging Giroud back, five minutes after his first for tripping Sanchez.
The two managers rearranged their teams for the final half hour, Ranieri sending on Marcin Wasilewski and Demarai Gray in place of Mahrez and Shinji Okazaki, Wenger throwing on Walcott for Francis Coquelin.
It was the Arsenal change that was to prove telling, Walcott equalising nine minutes after coming on by side-footing home after Giroud masterfully nodded Hector Bellerin’s cross into his path.
It was Arsenal’s first shot on target and their attempts to register another proved fraught.
Mertesacker glanced a header just wide and Schmeichel pulled off a pair of brilliant one-handed saves to thwart Giroud and Sanchez.
But with full-time beckoning, Welbeck rushed in to meet Ozil’s free-kick with an unerring downward header, eclipsing Leicester’s fairytale with one of his own.
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