Arsenal: Danny Welbeck return brings about a merciless boot

Arsenal will be welcoming back Danny Welbeck after international break, which means that someone is getting the merciless boot.

Arsenal’s transition was starting to look particularly good because the club was moving forward without heavy influence from either Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez. Both of whom were idling by as the club that they were supposed to power chugged on without them.

The transition was all about having more blue-collar players as opposed to white-collar players. When you have tried for so many years to create a beautiful champion, with the focus on beautiful before champion, you can lose track of the actual target. Which is that second word.

Players like Danny Welbeck, Sead Kolasinac and Aaron Ramsey never stop pushing to be champions and if, at various points in the process, they play some beautiful football, well that’s a pleasant bonus.

I’ve beat this point into the ground, so let’s get to the focus of this expansion on that point – that Welbeck is back after international break.

The target is to have him back against Watford, but in all likelihood, he will be given an added week and return against Everton. With no Europa League stop-off in between, except maybe in a cameo role.

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Why? Because Welbeck’s return absolutely better be met with a return to the starting XI. Meaning that someone is going to get booted, no matter how merciless it is. And by someone, I mean someone that sits behind Alexandre Lacazette, and not the Frenchman.

It’s all about progress, and Welbeck was giving us a direct lane to that end. He led the team in scoring and was tied for second in the Premier League when he was injured. He is still Arsenal’s second highest scorer. No big deal.

Whether it’s Alexis or Ozil, someone is moving. Arsene Wenger has shown a new resilience to caving to the demands of his superstars, so I’m excited to see him exert that newfound firmness when the beastly Englishman returns to health.

Obviously, my preferred replacement is of Ozil, whose flourishing artistry isn’t what is going to move the club forward as well as the steam-engine mentality of Welbeck, which will ideally be met by Alexis. The Chilean has shown positive signs in terms of work ethic and motivation despite his obvious desire to leave.

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We can’t half-arse this transition. If you know these guys are leaving, it’s time to stop building around them and start building in spite of them. Who better to accomplish that feat than Welbeck?

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