Arsenal: Time to be harsh with Danny Welbeck

Unai Emery has reportedly told Danny Welbeck that he will not be a part of his Arsenal plans next season. It may seem harsh, but it’s time for the striker to leave.

Unai Emery has some decisions to make. The Arsenal squad is too big. That’s what happens when you sign five players and sell just one, with that one being a player who was on loan last season and has made just four senior Premier League appearances for the club in his career, all four being from off the bench.

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One of the decisions that he has to make pertains to the future of Danny Welbeck. The versatile attacker has been a solid squad player for the Gunners since his arrival from Manchester United four years ago. But now, at 27, with just a year left on his contract and his starting role lost to recent acquisitions, it seems as though his time could be coming to an end.

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Welbeck has reportedly been told by Emery that he will not be a major part of his plans next season and that he is free to look for a new club if he wants to pursue regular football, something that Emery says he cannot offer at the Emirates. Whether Welbeck stays or leaves remains to be seen. It probably depends more on potential suitors at this point. But Emery and Arsenal have made their decision. He’s no longer needed.

That decision may seem harsh. Welbeck does still have some value and offers a unique threat for the squad. His flexibility, the depth he provides at different positions, his pace and unusual goal threat, especially in the big games, are all quality attributes that are important for a team hoping to go far in four different competitions this season. But the time has come to sell.

There are a few reasons for this. The most obvious is his contract. He has just a year remaining. If Arsenal do want to receive any semblance of value for Welbeck, then they have to sell this summer, akin to the Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool sale a year prior. But there are other elements to consider.

Welbeck’s presence prevents the progression of players like Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson, two players who impressed in the preseason and are baying for more playing time. At 27, there is not much room for growth regarding his quality, he will never be the 20-plus-goal-a-season striker that he suggested that he could become when he broke onto the scene at Manchester United. The goals that he does score can be replaced by younger, higher-ceiling replacements.

Nketiah, especially, is a player who could greatly benefit from more playing time. If Emery is willing to trust him as his third-choice or fourth-choice striker, then why not thrust him into Welbeck’s reserve role, providing him with the opportunity to start here and there in the Premier League, feature heavily in the domestic cups and the Europa League, and develop and hone his skills as he begins to make his case to be a starting-calibre player.

Does Welbeck deserve to be sold? No. He doesn’t. But is it time for him to be sold, for Arsenal to be ruthless and move onto younger options? Yes, it is.