Arsenal: Danny Welbeck Pilgrimage Begins Again

Arsenal will likely give Danny Welbeck his first run-out in the starting XI this season against Southampton and with it, he begins his quest again.

Arsenal actually has a nice array of striking options for the first time in a decade. Every prototype is covered. In Olivier Giroud they have the big, bruising forward who can link up play and be an aerial target. In Alexis they have that quick, South American striker akin to Sergio Aguero.

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Danny Welbeck is like a combination of the two and Lucas Perez could be considered that as well, with a skewing towards Alexis’s side, albeit with the link-up of Giroud.

It’s a buffet of striking options.

Although, up until recently, the Gunners have only actively called on Giroud and Alexis, the two ends of spectrum, to be their goal scorers. And it has worked out magnificently. Their contrasting styles have both worked this year and there is no reason to divert from these two.

That being said, Danny Welbeck, as a combination of the two and the youngest of the three, has that insatiable potential attached to him. Everything you could want a striker to physically have, Welbeck has it. He could be the be all, end all striker solution for the Gunners.

But he keeps having to hit the reset. When he first arrived, his scoring boots still weren’t there so he had to step off to the wings. Then he suffered a major injury just after scoring arguably the biggest goal of his career against Leicester City.

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That goal ticketed him to confidence and consistent looks at striker, especially seeing as how Alexis had not taken the role yet.

But the injury intervened and we have just now gotten him back, with very little opportunity to fit him into the starting XI.

Against Southampton, in the FA Cup, Welbeck can/should/absolutely must be starting up front. The Englishman has to be pining for his first start at the front of the formation. He has had to wait nearly a year to get another and with his work ethic and his determination, it is incredibly exciting to think of what he will do with it.

It seems like Welbeck keeps getting chances to reset and start from scratch, but this time, there is no reason that he shouldn’t put everything together. Even in his substitution roles thus far into the season, he has looked sharp and ready to make that stride towards being a world class striker.

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That all starts (again) against Southampton on Saturday.