Danny Welbeck is racing against time to be fit in time for the start of the new Premier League season. The English international was excluded by Arsene Wenger from the 27 player Arsenal squad for the pre-season tour of Singapore.
Welbeck is suffering from a knee injury that ruled him out of the final weeks of the last season. He went through the entire season enduring problems with his knee joint. Welbeck went through treatment at the club’s London Colney headquarters in his bid to get ready for the pre-season.
But, as things panned out, Welbeck missed out the pre-season training and will be out of the next week’s Singapore tour. Now, the hope is that Welbeck will be available for the Emirates Cup later this month.
The 24-year-old English forward was signed from Manchester United in what was regarded by many as a mistake by United. Welbeck wanted more game time as a forward and Wenger was looking for a backup for Olivier Giroud. Everything clicked and Welbeck became a Gunner in September 2014 for an estimated fee of around £16 million. His time at Arsenal did not entirely go according to the script. In between injuries wrecking his season, Welbeck appeared 25 times for Arsenal across competitions. He scored 4 goals in the process but did not look entirely convincing. Wenger initially thought that the injury to Welbeck would keep him out for a matter of days but, frustratingly for everyone, the injury has dragged on for months now. Welbeck will remain behind in London when the squad depart for their Asian pre-season tour to Singapore.
Welbeck’s last appearance was against Chelsea on 26th April. He now intends to concentrate on regaining his fitness for the new Premier League season.
Wenger must be immensely disappointed at this latest setback. One of the reasons why he went for Welbeck’s signature is his appreciation of versatility. He can play as a forward or even on the wing, which gives Wenger lot of options. Not that he needs options but Wenger always appreciates versatility.
There were calls from supporters for Wenger to sign another goal-scoring forward. Someone who can give 15-20 goals a season would add a new dimension to this attack. This is exactly what Wenger expected from Welbeck, but he is nowhere close to delivering…
With the new season starting a week earlier than scheduled, it would be a real struggle on the medical team for Welbeck to be fit for the season opener or keeping him fit on a regular basis. Wenger’s main dilemma is, even if Danny is available to play, will he be able to add more goals to his game?
Should this be a precursor for Wenger to dive into the transfer market and find a new striker?
Sridhar