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Danny Welbeck’s Injury Costing Him More Than Just Playing Time at Arsenal

By Josh Sippie

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Danny Welbeck is one Arsenal man who has not been seen at all this summer, and it is rather unnerving. Since sustaining an injury in the last month of the season, the oft-criticized England striker has suffered setbacks and looks to miss the first part of the season as well. 

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To put it simply, this injury could not have come at a worse time for Danny Welbeck. One of the main problems that plagued the Manchester United product last year was the fact that he had no preseason with the team. He was simply tossed into the fray and told to do his best. The goals never came, but he did put up some pretty good returns.

This year, it was supposed to be different. Danny Welbeck was supposed to have a nice, healthy preseason to mesh with the team and gain some valuable experience, but instead he has not even joined training yet. With the season set to start in a few weeks this has the makings of another season that Welbeck will have had no time to prepare for.

While every other Arsenal man is having a phenomenal preseason, Danny Welbeck sits. Chuba Akpom netted a hat trick against the Singapore Select XI and Olivier Giroud looked outstanding against Lyon. Theo Walcott has scored as well and he finished last season looking near perfect.

That puts Danny Welbeck fourth in Arsenal’s pecking order at striker, and with the rumors circulating that Arsene Wenger is in the hunt for Karim Benzema among other strikers, Danny Welbeck may find his chance of being a striker at Arsenal nearly over before it even began.

Arsene Wenger is all about giving players chances. Look at Abou Diaby. So do not think that this is the last we will see of Danny Welbeck. But Arsenal is getting into such a strong state that they cannot always afford to give players excessive chances. And at 24 years of age, Danny Welbeck is approaching those years where you really need to start making strides as a striker if you want to become one of the best out there. He has been unable to do that and this injury has set him back even further.

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It is painful to think what Danny Welbeck could have done with this preseason. As I mentioned, Arsenal is clicking on all cylinders. Everyone is scoring, everyone is looking great; it is contagious. That fanfare would have infested Danny Welbeck as well and he could have put a few well-needed goals behind him going into a season where he really needs to impress if he wants to accomplish his dream of becoming a striker.

I do not expect Danny Welbeck to come out any better than he was last year. He is going to be just as frustrating because he is not a part of this team right now. This team is building itself up on an incredibly strong foundation and they continue building, but Danny Welbeck is not one of the pieces of that building and he will not be for another month. That will affect his inclusion in the team even once he finally does get on the pitch.

Hopefully Danny Welbeck is still taking in a lot from this preseason. He needs to be with the team and be a part of what is going on around North London right now. Even if it is just sitting and watching, maybe that can pump him up and get him primed to get back on the pitch. Either way, this injury could not have come at a worse possible time in Danny Welbeck’s career. The guy needs to be playing but there is nothing that can be done about it.

Next: 5 Takeaways from Arsenal's Demolition of Lyon

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