Arsenal: There are far worse ideas than extending Danny Welbeck

Arsenal were expected to let Danny Welbeck depart the club this summer, but things may be changing, according to the man in charge.

Danny Welbeck never became the superstar many thought he would be. Even once he got that fresh start with Arsenal, serving as the foil to Olivier Giroud, his lack of clinical finishing – or rather, his eclectic finishing, as sometimes he was world class without any hint as to what had changed – was a drawback that he couldn’t overcome.

To be fair, though, every time Welbeck was hitting his stride, he’d suffer a serious injury and miss out on considerable time to work towards that goal of reaching his true potential.

This season was another example of that. He had just started hitting his stride under a manager that would truly appreciate what he’s all about, and then he went down for the year. Welbeck’s absence has been felt, even in spite of the presence of Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Having that third option is always a good idea, and Welbeck provided one hell of a third option, not to mention he was doing quite well as the midweek striker, someone who could be counted on to do a job, even if you weren’t sure if he’d be scoring goals.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

After the injury, it was pretty much assumed that Welbeck had played his last. He’s out of contract at the end of the year, and with him missing out on the entire Emery audition process, what would a new contract be based off, past history?

If so, than Emery may have reassessed, because he has indicated that Welbeck still needs to speak with the club about his future – a future that very well might include staying at the Emirates.

And it’s not like that’s the worst idea in the world. He’s no doubt an Emery-style player. He’s all effort and what he lacks in fine-tuning he makes up for by being everyone on the pitch that he can possibly be.

There is always going to be a value in a player like Welbeck who, even as he serves as a utility player, will have that perpetual upside of his random flashes of truly prolific play.

It’s not crazy at all that Emery and the club would pursue a potential contract extension with Welbeck. I doubt they want to go after any strikers in the summer (Olivier Giroud, though!) so locking in Welbeck for another few years would alleviate another potential stress before it can pop up.