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Arsenal vs AC Milan: Danny Welbeck magic inevitable?
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal will have to role with the Welbz at the San Siro, and as is always the case with Danny Welbeck, anything can happen. Is it magic time?
I have been harsh on Danny Welbeck in recent articles. I went so far as to say that I’d prefer a starting XI against AC Milan where Arsenal don’t even use a striker. That is how little confidence I have in Welbeck to actually be a striker, which we should know by now he is not.
However, one reason he is still in a position to prove himself, other than an obscene amount of chances granted him by Arsene Wenger, is because for all of his faults, he has had several rare occurrences where he has become the reincarnation of Thierry Henry.
Those occurrences are rare, they are distant and there is no explanation why he can suddenly navigate tight quarters with the dexterity of a woodland fawn escaping a hunter and tap the ball into the net like it’s something he just knows how to do.
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But they happen. And that is the important thing. Buried in the Welbz is the potential for a magical match of divine intervention (because what else could it be?). Sometimes his heroics aren’t even that heroic, he just ends up the hero.
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I’m thinking Leicester City, 2016, when the smallest nod of the head made him an icon. He did nothing after that match, but he didn’t have to. He was a veritable hero.
Then there was his solo effort against Southampton, where he put one of the sweetest chips I have ever seen to net one of several.
Then there was his performance against his former club Manchester United where he eviscerated their defense and, against the odds of an open net and no one left to beat, he finished as smooth as you like.
The point is, it has been a long time since Welbeck did something special. A long time. Even this year, despite his great start, he never really had one of those token Welbeck performances that keep faint hopes of him being a world-class striker alive.
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Today could be that day. Granted, as I said, there is no rhyme or reason as to why his moments of magic happen, so why would it have to be today? I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t. But it has to happen again at some point and I can’t think of a better day for it.