I have to be honest, I thought we had the seen the last of Danny Welbeck in an Arsenal shirt but it seems that may not be the case with the club thinking about offering him a new contract.
Now, that does bring up the question, is it time to let him go or do we offer him a new contract? I for one, say thanks Danny, but goodbye.
First, let’s see why this is even a question.
Basically, Unai Emery has hinted at the possibility when he was discussing Welbeck’s status and he finished off the injury update with this line
“After, his individual thing is to speak with the club [about his future].”
So, it is not set in stone but obviously under consideration.
Let’s look at some cold hard facts here.
Danny will have no sell on value if he signs a new contract, he is 28 and the chances are he would be in his early 30’s when this new contract would expire, and so him leaving for free at the end of this season is neither here nor there, we are basically not losing out on a transfer fee.
Second, he would be a squad player on a high wage, we need to use his wages for a player that would play regularly.
Third, as Luis van Gaal said when he sold Welbeck to us from Man United, there are youngsters we need to fit in.
“Welbeck doesn’t have the record of Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney. We let him go because of Falcao, but also to allow the youngsters to fit in. That is the policy. That is why I am here.”
And last but not least, he is injury prone, we cannot keep on carrying him and if we let go Jack Wilshere for more or less the same reason then we cannot make allowances for Welbeck.
So there you have it, I say let him go because he has no sell on value, a squad player on high wages, youngsters need to be given an opportunity and he is injury prone.
Darren N