In an interesting turn of events on transfer deadline day during the summer of 2014, Arsenal made one of the more surprising deals, signing Danny Welbeck from Manchester United for a fee believed to be around 16 million pounds. This obviously brought about a mixture of opinions ranging from Arsenal lacking ambition to Welbeck turning out to be the next Henry. One thing was certain, and it’s that Danny would be heavily scrutinised throughout the season, especially when his favoured role of centre forward was up for grabs with Olivier Giroud injured. Danny throughout his career so far —being a young man —has had the excuse of raw ability needing refinement, a counter argument for his mediocre returns, added to the fact he has primarily been utilised as a wide player. Seven months on and the 24 year-old has been used in various roles in Arsenal’s system, opening the floor for some examination.
To begin with, there must be an examination of Welbeck as a centre forward, his preferred role and where he began his Arsenal career. With 14 games started an only 5 goals to show, Welbeck has simply made it easy for Giroud to walk right back into the Arsenal team. Yes he offered pace, but Welbeck simply isn’t clinical enough so far. As a CF he has the pace and strength but his decision making needs improvement although he’s a relatively secure passer from that position which offers some respite. Tactically, Welbeck may not be best suited for the central role as Arsenal are incredibly reliant on Giroud’s flicks, hold up play and vision. How Giroud hold up the play drags defenders and invites interlinking play with the midfield and wide players is pivotal to Arsenal’s current style and Danny hasn’t shown he can offer all those elements as of yet. Overall, Danny is still in his first season with the Gunners so these elements can be worked on but so far, he’s certainly and rightfully in my opinion behind Giroud and possibly Sanchez.
Secondly Welbeck can also be examined as a wide forward/winger. Supposedly the reason why Welbeck left United in the first place was due to his constant use in wide areas and not in his preferred position in the middle. Welbeck’s pace and directness does allow him to have a great deal of impact but again his decision making is questionable when in these areas. In recent weeks a lot of theories were made regarding him starting over a now fully fit Theo Walcott, especially regarding contributions. Fans and pundits alike seem to be a fan of Welbeck’s effort and tendency to help out defensively, but Walcott’s much more potent attacking threat cannot be overlooked in my opinion. In only 3 League starts this season Theo has 2 less goals than Danny with significantly less shots taken per game and per 90. So I think choosing Danny over Theo because of his heavy running may be a naive outlook. While it’s fine to admire defensive contribution, using this to excuse him as an attacker is wrong. After all, he was brought in to play as our CF and to score goals and not too long ago, Walcott was able to give us 20 in a season.
To conclude, I believe Welbeck is far away from being at the standard we need at the club and I don’t believe this fact should be glossed over. He has all the elements to make a quality addition. He shows the effort and energy needed at the club, the eagerness to do well and play for the shirt, but at the end of the day what Arsenal need is quality and goals, especially from our forwards. With the season coming to an end, every goal matters, and as I mentioned earlier, Danny is known for creating nearly moments, but we need him to turn these into absolutes and take the next step. His defensive contribution is welcomed and appreciated, but it clearly impacts his displays as a forward and at this time, he’s needs to not only improve his decision making but his goal scoring, especially with team 1 point off 2nd and United hot on our tails.
