Danny Welbeck has reiterated his desire to play at centre-forward for Arsenal, as he looks to regain full match sharpness after a lengthy injury absence.
The England man marked his comeback with a late goal against Leicester, and also scored against former club Man Utd. He was picked ahead of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott for the 2-2 draw with Sp*rs on Saturday, but say he’s still some way from feeling his best.
Asked if he was at his maximum sharpness, he said, “No, it is going to take a while I think. I don’t feel as sharp as I did before my operation and I don’t know how long it will take but I’m getting fitter and stronger each week.”
And speaking about where he’d like to play, he said, “When I’m on the pitch I’m going to give it my all wherever I play but yeah, I do prefer to play down the middle.”
Giroud is without a goal in 11 appearances now, and Theo Walcott has never been consistently convincing, it’s a chance for the 25 year old to nail down the position between now and the end of the season.
His performances have drawn praise from Arsene Wenger, who said of his comeback, “He has worked very hard. I have seen every day the effort he has put in. He tells me in the Premier League that he cannot play every game but I have seen what he has done in training and I have had a lot of encouragement from that.
“Even when I took him off , he was maybe dead but you could see if it was needed, he still had that little burst to go. From then on, I thought maybe I didn’t want a setback for him.
“I like him because he is a combination of pace and stature – he has a good mixture. When Danny Welbeck is determined he goes for it. He is ready for the fight.
“He has all the attributes to be up there.”
Welbeck is likely to make way for one of Giroud or Walcott against Hull tomorrow night, as his return is managed carefully, keeping him fresh for that glorious Camp Nou hat-trick next week.
*cough*
Welbz is the guy we need upfront. For hat-trick Sanogo is your go to guy
He was good on the weekend but has a lot to prove here still with respect to his finishing. He’s better than most of the other English players we have though, although that isn’t saying much.
“He was maybe dead but you could see if it was needed, he still had that little burst to go”
This is exactly why I think Danny deserves to be ahead of Theo in the pecking order over Theo.
Like Arsene says, he’s got all the attributes. Pace, strength and most importantly a fighting spirit. If theo had ever put in half the effort we’ve seen from Danny against the spuds, we’d have a solid trio of strikers. I don’t think we should ever play theo on the wings again.
‘ I don’t think we should ever play theo again’ – fixed it for you.
That is tough but I sadly agree… no I still do not agree. The guy was our brightest future 10 years ago, man.
The only time Theo shown some passion this year was in the Leicester game at home. He looked pumped up and angry. No wonder, he got himself a goal and always looked dangerous. if he can only muster that anger and hunger at every game, he would be some player.
He still gets credit for the 2-0 fingered salute to the spuds fans as he was stretchered off….. classic.
Theo is now 3rd choice forward. So much for the current longest serving and highest paid player.
I think Wenger did think about let him go, but he also knew that he could be dangerous to be against with.
Mind boggling.
If he is no dangerous for our opponents, he wouldn’t be dangerous for us. Besides other mangers would give up on him far more easier than ours.
The only consistent spell he put in a good shift was when negotiations were going on with a contract renewal. Other than that, small bursts of goals, sudden golden patches of good form. 10 years of very little progress and he himself not knowing where he wants to play tells it all. If you want to be played down the middle, learn what needs to be done, work on it. He stands on shoulders of defenders and nothing else. Before you guys say that, that is what his game is all about. Then, he is the most single dimensional player… Read more »
I’m excited if he’s not even feeling that sharp! He’s definitely been a lot better than both Theo and Giroud have recently.
Love his work ethic, and he’s got a bit of the best of both worlds in terms of Giroud’s height and Theo’s strength. Hoping for a consistent run up top!
Theo’s strength?
Giroud’s height and strength, and Theo’s pace! Sorry!
I think we shud sell theo
Cheers Geoff
Giroud, almost 1000 minutes without a goal.
What happened to you, man?
He’ll come round.
yeah, and i wonder too. sadly this is the third season in a row that he will be on fire for a while and then the goals just dry up?…main reason why his critics say he is not ‘world class’ or ‘good enough’ for arsenal.
I am definitely a big fan of his, but you sometimes wonder if only he can manage to ‘keep it together’ for a whole season?
With no viable options for rotation he’s been knackered for a stretch in all three.
This is te problem for giroud, he has been overplayed. A fresh giroud scores regularly a tired one doesnt.
How come other top forwards can play 40-50 games without resting and continue scoring consistently? Do you think Messi, Ronaldo, Suarez would blame tiredness?
I like Giroud, he is good, but he is not consistent enough.
Winter break, less packed holiday schedule, less physically demanding leagues.
Same lame excuses every season. He’s a very inconsistent striker who isn’t good enough to be first choice. MSN play alot of matches yet we don’t see anyone say anything about burnout
Needs to add goals to his game, but he’s done well since he’s been back.
So against Leicester and Man Utd he did what?
Also be bold and add Barcelona in a weeks time
His biggest strength is his willingness to take on opposing defenses. He stretched Spurs’ defence so bad it allowed other players to take up good positions, Sanchez and Ramsey in particular benefiting from it. I agree with you however, if he can work to be more prolific we will have one hell of a striker.
Our frontline looked really dangerous with Welbeck, Sanchez, Ramsey and Ozil. I really like it. I think it can work wonders once its given time to gel.
Welbeck is the man we need to lead the line against Barca. But he should file out with the team tomorrow to give us quality hope of qualifying. Giroud should please be given a special seat on the substitute bench.
He looks like our best chance of scoring at the moment. Looks sharp and could go on a scoring run. Maybe rest Giroud for the Hull game and keep him fresh for West Brom. Bring on Walcott in the 92 minute when we’re 4-0 up. Let him know that’s where he stands.
Welbeck has grown to have world class stats in my fifa campaign mode.
45 goals in 45 appearances and around 10 assists in my current campaign in Fifa.He turns into an absolute beast if you keep playing him up front for a few seasons, almost unstoppable.Hope he does the same in real life as well
And ive won the league like 10 years running on fifa 16..whats your point?
Remember how people moaned when we bought him?
Bit premature to start claiming “I told you so”. Where you one of the people claiming Giroud as world class in that Giroud stats article that was published on this site a few months back?
Welbeck has potential, but let’s not forget he still has lot to prove if he is to become our de facto first choice striker. But for now? He’s our best option.
All I said was people moaned like fuck when he was signed in the dying moments of the transfer window. Nothing about what he has to prove or Giroud being world class or not.
But sure, told you so for him being more than just a Man U’s reject and how quickly people warmed to him.
He hasn’t proved anything yet. He hasn’t turned to the new thierry henry like people said or scored nearly enough. I still think Giroud and Walcott (yes really) are better finishers than he is and that’s saying something.
He obviously is better allround than Theo and Giroud, but it goes to show you just how average our striking options are.
I don’t think anyone is arguing the point that they aren’t more prolific goal scorers. Giroud at least. And I’ve never seen anyone claim he would become the new Henry either. That would be ludicrous. On the contrary people moaned because he was considered not good enough but he qiuckly proved himself useful. Not least for scoring on two vital occasions. He hasn’t set the world on fire and I doubt he will but he works hard and adds to the team.
You know, the small things. It’s possible to appreciate them in a player.
He is streets ahead of Theo and ox!!!
And that £56m Man united signing called Martial.
Hey Danny, if you do find sharpness please let the others know where it was!
or at least just give those two whatever you are on right now and we should be fine
Welbeck doesn’t feel 100% match sharp, yet right now he contributes much more than the other bottlers up front.
Point taken Mark Hughes, but Danny Averages about 1 in 5 at the moment since joining us. He can improve that.
“DEAD”? ….. was Arsene listening to the live Arseblog last Friday?
Says a lot about the Arsenal medical team that they managed to bring him back. Glad they did.
Our own Danny Lazarus Welbeck. But then we have a Welsh Jesus in the squad. Maybe it was he who revived him.
He is not a world class striker to help us win the title race but Wele is an improvement over Lollcot and Giroud
When Welbeck joined, I read a blog somewhere saying we shouldn’t judge him on whether or not he is a world class striker who can be our unquestioned number one, but rather see him as the next Wiltord: a dependable, hard working team player who can do a job at any level (as shown by a solid record for his national team) and makes an excellent squad option or impact substitute. So far, I think that assessment has been pretty good. Now the question is: are we going to be content with Welbeck and Giroud (and Walcott?) as our striking… Read more »
I love Welbeck and his high top fade, his smile can cure diseases and end wars. I love his scrappy style of play in the way he often scores goals reminds me a bit of a refined, older Sanogo. No he’s not a 20+ goal guy, but he’s fast, tall, strong, versatile, defensively minded and unselfish and you need these guys in a title winning squad too. To answer you on: can we have Welbz in squad with Giroud and Walcott? Simple answer is yes, and out of all these 3 guys, I’d be pissed if Welbz was the one… Read more »
Sorry*
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/vincent-aboubakar/leistungsdaten/spieler/147487/plus/0?saison=2015
Where do you get your stats?
Played | Goals | Assists
total: 174 56 24
I was referring to his cumulative spells at Lorient and Porto not his aggregate stats
Prefer Welbeck up top to Walcott. He is a bit more physical and he works very hard even at lost causes.
Think Walcott should be at LW. He can tuck in and play off GIroud or Welbeck.
That said, Giroud is still better protecting the ball and more efficient with it.
Danny needs to keep using his guile and make the ball stick better to him.