Welbeck Must Improve Or Be Sold

By Joshua Walters

Danny Welbeck is a great powerhouse and a speedster, but the striker is faced with selection problems at Arsenal, which he must change or risk being offloaded by the London-based club.

Welbeck is a product of the Manchester United academy, and he featured prominently for the senior side during the latter part of Sir Alex Fergusson's era before he was transferred to Arsenal in 2014 by Louis Van Gaal.

All through his days under Sir Alex and even now, the Ghanaian-born striker has distinguished himself as one with the quality to translate power and athletism into speed and mobility. But the missing link was his finishing rate.

Welbeck made 92 Premier League appearances at Man United. He started 53 times and came on as a substitute in 39 games. In all, he scored 20 goals before his £16 million fee transfer to Arsenal.

The story has not changed much for the 27-year old as he has neither been able to nail a permanent place in the side; not under Arsene Wenger, the man who brought him to the club, or current manager, Unai Emery. He also has not improved on his finishing rate.

At Arsenal, Welbeck has made 80 appearances in 4 seasons. He came on a substitute in 35 of the games. He has scored 15 goals so far.

The presence of Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bought from Borussia Dortmund with a club record fee of €64 million, and France international, Alexandre Lacazette, from Olympic Lyon for a club-record €53 million deal in 2017, has worsened Welbeck's fate even he more.

Unai Emery seems to have faith in the two strikers than Welbeck, meaning that the England international is now the third choice in the pegging order. And for the above reasons, Welbeck has not featured in the 2-game old 2018/19 Premier league season.

The Gunners lost 2-0 against defending champions, Manchester City, and 3-2 to Chelsea at the Stanford Bridge on day-2. Apart from battered pride, Arsenal's opening losses cannot hurt their title chances; no, that is too early to become become a determinant. 

However, every good club would consider improving on its attacking force after its been beaten by a fellow contender. The danger therein for Welbeck is that the manager could consider selling him to free the wage bill so he can get enough money to recruit a new striker.

In football, the more you spend time on the sidelines, the more likely your performance would sink and your value reduced. Welbeck has not improved from what he was at Man United and what he is now, but he surely has the talent to reach higher heights, but that would only happen if he takes his chance now before it gets late.

He must win the manager's trust, now that he has the chance, or may be sold in January. And when that happens, Welbeck must be assured that he would not land any club at the same level as either Man United or Arsenal. And for a player of his age, one may not be wrong to suggest that, that would be his end in top-flight football.