After an emphatic win against Fulham, Arsenal are surely on the right track. Although things may be rosy on the pitch, it’s not the same story off the pitch. If Aaron Ramsey’s contract situation hadn’t left the fans bewildered enough, the situation with Danny Welbeck surely will.
Welbeck is into his last year of contract at the Emirates and according to The Mirror, the club haven’t offered him a new deal yet.
It might seem strange on Arsenal’s part to let contracts of several players like Ramsey, Welbeck and Nacho Monreal run down to their final year. But in the case of Welbeck, offering him a new deal might not be a great move.
When Welbeck arrived at Arsenal for a fee of £16m in 2014, he came as the second choice striker behind Olivier Giroud. The former Manchester United man was expected to fulfil his potential under Arsene Wenger but that didn’t happen.
Over his Arsenal tenure, Welbeck has been plagued by numerous injuries. In four seasons at the club, the attacker has never played more than 28 games in the Premier League. Be it ankle or hamstring or knee, Welbeck has had the worst luck with injuries.
Another factor for Welbeck’s limited role at Arsenal is his goalscoring record. It was his poor numbers in front of the goal that made Louis van Gaal sell him in the first place. Playing under Wenger in an attack-oriented team should have ideally improved his goal tally but that didn’t happen.
With 4, 4, 2 and 5 goals in the past four Premier League seasons, Welbeck is just not good enough for any club in the English top division, let alone Arsenal.
If things were tough for Welbeck before, they have got even tougher now. The arrivals of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have completely pushed him out of the side. Welbeck was always an industrious player who can play as a striker and as a left-winger.
But now, Emery has opted to play Lacazette as a striker and Aubameyang on the left-wing, leaving Welbeck on the periphery of the club. The two new recruits have been in decent form and Welbeck has had to stay content with starts in competitions like the Europa League and the League Cup.
Welbeck is an England international who needs to get regular minutes under his belt. At the age of 27, he is not a young kid anymore who can grow in the shadows of another top striker. It is time for him to leave Arsenal and join a club that will be ready to give him the No.9 jersey.
At the same time, he must focus on his finishing abilities. For the Arsenal fans, it will be a bitter pill to swallow but this is a move that is absolutely necessary for both parties.
