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Is Danny Welbeck Better Used on the Wings for Arsenal?

By Josh Sippie

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Arsene Wenger bought Danny Welbeck with the intention of him being a striker. He had always been pegged as a striker that was simply too far down the pecking order to stand out for his hometown club, and the addition of Falcao set him even further down.

So Welbeck was free to roam at Arsenal in a polarizing acquisition that still leaves room for debate. Is Danny Welbeck truly a striker or did Manchester United have him judged properly as a winger?

Seeing Welbeck come out on the left flank with Giroud in the center of the attack had me scratching my head a bit as to why we wouldn’t just use a two striker format. But I quickly saw why.

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Welbeck displayed excellent control and skill on the wing, as well as cutting inside to assist in the attack. He was able to show off his pace and play hold up abilities and it was quite clear that his confidence as a winger far exceeds that as a striker.

Making a decision based on one game alone would be silly, especially given that Welbeck did score the winning goal when he was moved to striker. That being said, the Welbeck we saw on the left flank was far different from the one that had been leading our attack in weeks past.

Giroud is the better target in the center of the box for guys like Sanchez and his gang to feed the ball to. Welbeck isn’t the same aerial threat. The header he notched against West Brom was basically uncontested. I think he’d be much better served playing in from wide and using his speed to knife through the attack and lay the ball off, as he tends to want to do all the time anyways.

His finishing just isn’t developed enough yet to be depended on as a first-team striker. But seeing his skills as a winger may have won him a few more looks.

What say you, Gooners? Is Welbeck our striker or is he best used on the wing?

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