Why Welbeck? by DG

Whilst watching the Deadline day coverage on Sky Sports and hearing that Arsenal’s somewhat hilarious interest Danny Welbeck was not indeed a joke, I realised that Wenger had gone and done it again. Another player that has potential that he may never live up to. A promising prospect that could possibly lead the line…in a few years. Given our need for established, world class players in multiple positions, I was fuming. Outraged that the seemingly obvious need for a solid CDM, CB and Striker had been overlooked and instead we had brought in none other than Danny Welbeck. But upon reflection I think I may have figured out what Wenger has in mind, so bear with me.

This time last season I was in complete shock, Ozil – possibly the best playmaker around – had left Real Madrid and had joined Arsenal. He started well, an assist on his debut and a sublime goal against Napoli had us Unfortunately he began to fizzle out, maybe because of the lack of a winter break, or in my opinion, the lack of pace and movement around him. Having barely played with Walcott, his passing and movement were wasted with Giroud being his main target. And although our midfielders do complement him well, they aren’t going to get on the end of a masterful ball placed to perfection between opposing defences. I think Wenger sees Welbeck as a way to get the most out of our record signing.

When you look at the possibility of having Walcott and now Alexis and Welbeck all on the same pitch in front of a playmaker like Ozil, you can start to see what Wenger is doing. All of these players have blistering pace, incredible work rates, an eye for goal and the ability to play anywhere across the front line. Pair that with Ozil’s unique way of creating space for players around him and his inch perfect passing, and we have the making of a delicious strike force. Yes we could have gone for Falcao or Cavani with their goal scoring ability and their ridiculous wage demands, but they wouldn’t have moulded into this Arsenal team that requires a specific type of player.

A player like Ozil, a player in the same ilk as a Bergkamp or a Pires, someone whose every touch is meticulously measured. Yes we should have got a CDM and a CB, but it softens the blow to know that Ozil can be the catalyst for likes of Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Olivier Giroud and even Danny Welbeck to become some of the best in the world.

Daniel

Tags Ozil welbeck

20 Comments

  1. That is not the reason Wenger bought Welbeck. To understand what really happened here we must first establish two things: 1) we never thought United will sell to us anything, especially after the TV5 saga and 2) investigate a bit in the past, not long ago.
    Why investigate the past? Wenger is the one starting the influx of abroad players in the EPL, at our peak we had hardly a pair British player in the squad. Invincibles were mostly from the continent and not from the island. After Fabregas, Clichy, Nasri, RvP,Adebayor players to which we used to adore simply turned their back to Wenger project he realized that one way in making players loyal is to actually invest massively in local talent. With them, our club may have a chance to oversee over a talented, British, loyal flock of players.
    Think about it.
    Everything falls into place now. He stood up for Ramsey when half of the Emirates pulled their hairs out, he stood up by Wilshere, he developed Gibbs, he gave the money Walcott asked, he played Ox. Beginning the window transfer everything made sense to me by seeing Chambers signed. Then I realized the master plan. Wenger is still building for a bright future while not neglecting the present.
    And now, Welbeck. Look at it like that : Chambers,Ox,Walcott,Welbeck,Wilshere,Jenko,Gibbs – the backbone of the future English squad. Arsenal turned into an English club again. This and only this will make FA our friends for life, same as they protected United and people’s club of Liverpool a while ago. Will it pay in the short term? Probably. But long term it will pay for sure.
    Just think about what I just said. This is the plan.

    1. You’re spot-on. This plus the diversity he adds to the possition makes me thrilled we signed him. For years we’ve been looking for a centre forward with composure that can run effectively with the ball. He is a more finished product than Sanogo and I hope Sanogo will learn lots from Danny. I also noticed Welbeck has quite good positioning in the box (in contrary to Giroud), which will be a blessing for Sanchez Ozil and Cazorla. Last season is scored 9 in 9 starts, which is definitely not bad either.

      I really like the comparison with Sturridge’s transfer to Liverpool, Welbeck might become crazy good with the attention and confidence he will get being our #1 choice for a while.

    2. I actually never thought to the extent of loyalty from the players, its a good point really.

      Wenger said after signing Chambers “I told you, gradually, I will build you a team”
      Walcott and Gibbs are the eldest of our English guys and they are not at their peak yet.

      Wenger now needs to get many other things right and we can have a good season.

    3. I feel that Mr Wenger get his man he long-awaited for…
      Welbeck has almost same build & as pacy as our King Henry…

      Likely Mr Wenger will invite our King Henry to come over during MLS off-season and give pointers to Welbeck… Give him another few months getting used to Gunners System…
      Let’s hope we’ll go back to Good Old Times… Invincibles II within next few years… Cheers…

  2. unfortunately i see ozil being a big disappointment so far for the club. don’t get me wrong mezut is still a great player , one of the best “10” in the world but he is not strong enough for the english premier league. the opponent defenders and midfielders know it and play very aggressively against him. maybe this is why wenger puts him at the left wing, because its less crowded than the midfield?

    1. Wenger promised to build a team around Ozil I believe, hence Ozil’s comments about Wenger’s trust being very important. Ozil affects the game far more than we all imagine, but the new formation doesn’t seem to suit him that well. He is one of the worlds best No.10’s and in my view should be given a free role to play his game. He can’t track back and defend. I think we can all tell that. But in a way his ability to create chances from nothing for others means that he has to be marked at all times. And it he is floating around the field that means more than one player from the other side cannot join in the attack. I think he needs to be played to his strengths by Wenger.

  3. Wenger signed Welbeck because he realized (whether early or late) he did not want to take chances with our attacking department like he did last season.
    I think our overall difficulty last season was in the attack where we unbelievably scored the less amount of goals among the top 4 (or 5 I think). That was incredibly poor for an attacking-based team like Arsenal. This summer transfer window, we have worked towards rectifying that problem by signing 2 quality attacking replacements + 1 additional world class attacker.

    J. Campbell————>J. Park
    Welbeck—————>Bendtner

    + Alexis Sanchez as the addition.

  4. Really interesting post Budd, all I know is that I am really looking forward to going to the Emirates and seeing this team play….I love it when we have young English players in our squad. I also love it when we bring through youngsters and they do make it with us.

    Arsenal can be very proud of the way it operates as a football club.

    OK games are still tough to watch at times, but we do also see some breathtaking football.

    I can’t wait to see how Welbeck fits in, and I hope Theo gets back after this international break

    Bring it on !!!!!

  5. I remember how folks (myself included) wanted so badly for Wenger to sign Josip Drmic.
    Now Welbeck is no worse than Drmic talent-wise (techniqe and pace). Infact, Welbeck has more strength and height. Welbeck has more experience playing in the EPL. And Welbeck is as young as Drmic. I truly hope that he improves on his goal-tally with us.

  6. Huh well,

    1. Wenger’s 1st choice striker is out for most of the season (this is probably the main reason, had OG been fit we wouldn’t have signed him people).

    2. EPL experience

    3. Big frame / fast / strong on the ball /

    4. Versatile (can play uptop or on the wing)

    5. Part of his British core project

    6. Pressure from the fans and football world (YES PEOPLE) for him to buy another striker – Wenger promised us another player before the window closed hence we would chewed him alive had he not done this.

    7. Workaholic on the pitch – puts his all in the match and never gives up

    8. Good age – he can still be improved into a Wenger wants him to be

    9. Massive potential to be a really good stricker

    10. He was one of the few good strikers available on the market on that day.

    11. He finally saw what we all see in Sanogo

  7. Actually I think we bought him because he is genuinely good, and has potential to grow to be a better player in the future. He is a player that fits our style and team nicely. Plus now if you look at the players we have in the ST position, and I only mean out and out ST not LW/ST or RW/ST or supporting strikers, so Sanogo and Giroud. Welbeck, in terms of progress lies between the two, Sanogo, has potential but no EPL experience and no goals, Giroud is about 28 and in his prime, whereas Welbeck is experienced in the EPL is still learning but shows potential to be great, he lies between the two and is likely to be better than Giroud. The reaction from the Man Utd fans, pundits and even Ex-Players/Staff, about his transfer says it all.

    I am genuinely looking forward to him being given his chance.

  8. I have no doubt that danny welbeck will be great for arsenal, he has power, pace, height and the knack to get n the right positions, arsenal have a ton loads of people who can assist but not many finishers.
    Really happy the Danny Welbeck is here fits Arsenal perfectly, he will be one of the stars of this season.

    Still disappointed with the latter part of the window and have not heard anything from our manager on the situation regarding our defense, which is another disappointment

  9. In other words Wenger is either a genius or a complete muppet. We will see soon enough. My gut feeling is that Welbeck will surprise many because at United he was not given the time of day to really prove himself. How can you when your have 4 other strikers ahead of you in the pecking order?

  10. cant wait to see awesome counter attacking football once again at the arsenal, ozil looking for sanchez welbeck and walcott is absolutley mouth watering not to mention RAMSEY!!!!!

    1. I think Sanchez will shift to the left eventually, with Walcott on the right.
      I honestly think they will rotate during the game to keep defences on their toes.
      I know Walcott seldom plays on the left, but remember the goal against city last season, hope it happens again next week!

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