Arsenal Will Not Give Danny Welbeck Extended Look At Striker

Arsenal are welcoming back Danny Welbeck to training and the hype is immense. However, if they don’t see goal returns this year, something has to be done.

Danny Welbeck is back in Arsenal training and there is reason to be excited. When it comes to someone with as much raw talent as Welbeck, it’s almost impossible not to be excited to see what he can do. He has everything a footballer could want. Well, just about everything.

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When you look at Danny Welbeck, you see an athlete. An all-around physical specimen that can do just about anything. That is, anything except score goals in club football.

It’s an anomaly. It would seem like scoring would be a casual byproduct of the mass of talent that he has but that has not been the case. In fact, it is almost the opposite. Seeing how much talent that he has and then remembering/seeing his inability to put it in the net is incredibly frustrating.

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Danny Welbeck was purchased at the deadline two summers ago. He was supposed to be the striker to finally mount a challenge for Olivier Giroud’s spot. He was unable to do that. In 24 starts and seven substitute appearances, Welbeck found the back of the net seven times and assisted three times. Three of those goals were in one Champions League match against Galatasaray.

I wouldn’t call it a disappointment. Changing to a new squad and a new system is no easy feat. Plus, he had no preseason with the team. So we can write him a pass.

Naturally, Welbeck had to go and get injured last April. It was a bone bruise that kept him out until just now. Suddenly, Welbeck is starting to look more like a disappointment.

The guy still has all the talent in the world and he deserves a spot on this team. His work rate is right up there with Joel Campbell, as is his pace and all-around ability. But if Danny Welbeck cannot prove that he can score goals this year, something has to be done.

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If Welbeck is Arsene Wenger’s answer to why Arsenal did not sign a striker, then Welbeck has to show that he can be a striker. A team like Arsenal cannot go two straight seasons without a secondary striker all because the boss has faith in his project signing. They most certainly cannot go three years.

I would love for nothing more than to see Welbeck develop into a world-beater. He has the ability. But if it’s not meant to be, Wenger can’t keep clinging to hope, and in all likelihood, he won’t.

Take Lukas Podolski for instance. Podolski showed more signs of being a striker in less time than Welbeck has and he was gradually weened away from the position to allow Giroud a monopoly. It would not be surprising to see the same happen for Danny Welbeck.

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As mentioned, he is still young and has gobs of talent but at Arsenal’s level, you cannot keep running with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. If Welbeck can’t score, he has to move to the wings and make way for a striker that can. Giroud cannot keep doing this job alone or Arsenal is asking for trouble.