The clock had struck 11, deadline day was over. Another window which had provided us with spectacular signings and shock moves. It was though almost inevitably tense for Arsenal fans throughout the day who, after the injury to Oliver Giroud piled pressure onto Arsene Wenger to purchase a new forward. It wasn’t until after deadline day had officially finished that Arsenal fans got their wish and Wenger struck to pinch Danny Welbeck off arch rivals Manchester United. Initially for the Gunners faithful, it was a move that was to say the least underwhelming and a big risk. But having had time to let it sink in, have Arsenal and Arsene Wenger taken the right gamble and can Welbeck be a success for the Emirates outfit?
Danny Welbeck is a hard working grafter; he’s quick, strong and technically gifted and will no doubt bring a threat to the Arsenal frontline. He won’t surprise anybody with an abundance of skill or grace but for the price of £16 million, Arsene Wenger may well think he’s got a bit of a bargain. The main problem that many United fans had with Welbeck was his lack of composure in front of goal, believing that if he added that to his game he had the potential to be world class.
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The game against Switzerland showed that he may well have improved that aspect of his game and is able to push on and fulfil his potential in an Arsenal shirt. Another criticism would be that he performs only for his country, his statistics for United in comparison to that of the national side are poor but this could be down to a lot of reasons. He was constantly played out of position at United and was rarely given the opportunity to show his prowess in the lone forward position, a chance that he will surely be given at Arsenal after an impressive display against Switzerland last night.
Was it the right gamble though from Wenger? Earlier in the transfer window Wenger had the opportunity to sign maverick Italian forward Mario Balotelli but turned it down mainly due to his obsession with the ridiculous. But also Giroud wasn’t injured and he felt he had suitable cover in the forward position. It could though have been the wrong decision; Balotelli is the more gifted individual technically and has a better goal scoring record than Welbeck.
Basically if you judged a player on just their ability on the pitch rather than the off field antics then Balotelli would have been a better signing and would be worth twice as much. In fact despite moving on from one club to another regularly throughout his career Balotelli’s record is very good and has proved himself as a goal scorer in 2 of Europe’s top leagues, he’s an out and out striker and would have been just what Arsenal needed but instead he went to Liverpool and for 16 million and it could well prove to be a steal for Brendan Rodgers and his side.
His international record is impressive and perhaps he feels that it is because he is given regular game time by Hodgson and has been able to have the opportunity to flourish, a chance that he was not really given by United. He was informed earlier in the week before the signing that he would be 5th choice striker at United behind Van Persie, Falcao, Rooney and youngster James Wilson who United have high hopes for in the future. But many United fans have reacted angrily to the sale including former united assistant manager Mike Phelan who said that United have “lost their identity” with the sale, a sale which United fans believe to have strengthened their rivals in the race for top 4 and even perhaps the title.
But then again there is the argument that being United’s apparent 5th choice striker, the sale isn’t that big of a deal and they are practically selling their weakest forward to lead Arsenal’s front line for the rest of the season while United have better players leading theirs. There is no doubt now that with the calibre of United’s front line and midfield they should be minimum finishing in the champions league spots this season. Anything less is an embarrassment and Van Gaal would fear for his job, but he insists it’s a long term project and any possibility of them challenging for the title this season is false.
In many ways this is a classic Wenger signing, like many others in the past Wenger has signed Welbeck is a hard working player with solid attributes but he’s someone that needs work in many areas if he is to become a key player in this Arsenal side. A similar signing would be that of Thierry Henry signed for a similar fee in 1999 and was struggling in a Juventus side that favoured to play him out wide and this was if he got into the side, he found it tough to get game time and moved to Arsenal looking for guidance under his former manager at Monaco Arsene Wenger.
Wenger deployed him down the middle in his first game for the club and the rest as they say is history. Henry is Welbeck’s ‘hero’ and was a big inspiration for him growing up, if Wenger gives him regular first team football and plays him down the middle could Welbeck achieve what Henry achieved and give this Arsenal side the missing ingredient that they are missing?
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