It looks like the fears that Arsenal may have to do without Danny Welbeck as well as Theo Walcott for the crunch clash with Manchester United later will prove to be unfounded, The England international was due to face a fitness test yesterday and was then pictured training normally, so hopefully that means he will fine to start.
Welbeck will be delighted as it is his first chance to face his former club and perhaps to prove once and for all that their new manager Louis van Gaal made a bit of a blunder when he allowed the 23-year old to join the Gunners. Van Gaal has restated his reasons for allowing the transfer, insisting that his striker options would all be in front of Welbeck, as reported by The Mirror.
And while those words are likely to provide Welbeck with even more reason to perform well and hurt his former club, the United boss also brought up the fact that they have their own version of Welbeck, with van Persie having been our former striker and captain before forcing his way to Old Trafford.
The situations are, as we know, much different, but the inevitable abuse that our former player has received and will get again seems to spur him on to score against us, with three goals from his four games against Arsenal since leaving.
So even though the little boy has been pretty rubbish so far this season, do not expect the same at the Emirates. But if it does come down to a shootout between the players facing their former clubs, which will come out on top?