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Why Danny Welbeck Should Leave Arsenal
Following his £16m move from Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2014, the Englishman may have played just enough to justify his paltry price tag, especially considering the inflation of market price in recent years. However, everyone can agree that he hasn’t lived up to his potentials, and for a player who is approaching 28, it may be just the right time for Arsenal to sell and both parties can move on.
According to Goal, Danny Welbeck would be leaving the Gunners together with a star teammate as Unai Emery looks to build a stronger team than the one he inherited from Arsene Wenger. Consequently, West Ham and Everton have been backed as the most likely destinations of the 27 year old. Crystal Palace have also been backed by bookmakers, such as betting top 10, as a possible destination.
Danny Welbeck started his career at Manchester United amidst lots of pundit acclaims which virtually all English prospects have become accustomed to. He has the pace, and could play as a lone striker or on either flanks. He was meant to command his place in the English national team, and he did.
However, as football fans all over the world get accustomed to English talents failing to live up to their gifts, Welbeck has come into that category. Similar to the case of his countryman Wilshere, injuries have not been favourable, and the forward has had to fight several injuries in all of his seasons at the Emirates.
The presence of Unai Emery at Arsenal, as reported by The Sun, could be the catalyst needed to offload the Manchester-born forward. If anything, the Spanish tactician has shown in his early days in London that he isn’t scared of letting go of established players as evident in the exodus of Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere.
More importantly, Welbeck’s place in this Arsenal squad is not assured. Upfront, he has to contend with Gabonese player Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and French forward Lacazette. On the flanks, he has Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to compete with.
The former United forward played a total of 41 games for Arsenal in the 2017/18 season, scoring nine goals which is a below par return. While the total number of games played for the Gunners might seem incredible, he played 28 times in the Premier League, with 16 of those as a substitute. His number of games in the Europa League (10) was as a result of Lacazette’s injury and Aubameyang’s inability to play for a second team in the competition.
With the Gunners looking to fight City and others for the top place this season, they need to get rid of players that are not actively pushing them toward their grand goal, and Welbeck needs to create that extra space for one more top notch summer signing.
Welbeck Linked With Everton – Good Move for the Player and the Club
With the World Cup finally over (congrats France!!!), we are back to preseason action and the Gunners have shown some attacking ruthlessness, blasting eight past a hapless Boreham Wood and surprisingly, they smashed nine past Crawley Town in a friendly behind closed doors. Some pictures surfaced and it was nice seeing Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette strutting their stuff together.
With the summer acquisitions of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papathatopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, it’s highly unlikely for the Gunners to do any transfer business, so it only makes sense to balance the books with some departures on the other end. Sure I have see Carl Jenkinson play in a couple of games, but will he be comfortable enough to wait for his chance behind Hector Bellerin and Lichtsteiner? Joel Campbell didn’t do much justice to market himself during the World Cup, but he certainly knows how to find a loan spell somewhere away from the Emirates. Then there are those youngsters that may never make the grade like Chuba Akpom and co.
According to the times, Marco Silva and his Everton are interested in signing Danny Welbeck this summer. Unlike Aaron Ramsey whose contractual situation has been clearly publicized due to his importance to the team, Welbeck has less than 12 months on his contract and it will make some sense to ship him away and re-invest in the team if need be. Since his move from Manchester United, Welbz hasn’t really lighted any fireworks but he has done his bit here and there – however, not really good enough for the team in the grand scale of things. Sure he provides some depth and he’s homegrown, but many fans will not bat an eyelid if Welbeck joins Theo Walcott in the blue of Everton.
I’ve always felt that Welbeck is a mid-table forward at best, and he could possibly thrive in a team like Everton. They struggled with big Sam last season and never did enough to replace the monumental loss of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United. With Wayne Rooney gone to the MLS to enjoy his twilight years, Welbeck will have the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse to contend with and it’s fair to say that he will get the nod ahead of those two.
I hope this move comes to fruition and I wish him the very best in his future endeavors. The league starts pretty soon and the transfer window closes with it, so I’d be hopeful he makes that move. Besides, we have Alex Iwobi and Lucas Perez to provide width on the flanks to make up for the loss of Welbeck.
It’s going to be a good move for the player and the club.
Sayonara.
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Good News on Injuries Ahead of Stoke Clash
It’s another weekend and I’m looking forward to some Premier League action tomorrow! I know I’d miss most of the Saturday’s games because of a wedding I’m scheduled to attend but that the fun part in being in some BlackBerry groups like Gooner Daily, that would keep you updated all the way. I love that lot!
With the game against Stoke coming up tomorrow in front of the Emirates faithful, the feel good factor is back with the team scoring nine goals in their last two outings. It’s even more fun knowing that a goal can come from any position on the side, which is hugely encouraging, unlike some sides that leave the goalscoring burden for a player or two.
There have been a lot of injuries that disrupted the team this season and one can look no further than the influential Santi Cazorla that had a successful surgery and he’d be looking forward to a full recovery. The optimists believe he could be back in contention as early as March, but knowing Arsenal and the way our injury situation could be, I’d throw caution to the wind and give Santi enough time to recuperate before getting back to full fitness. In his absence, the likes of Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and Aaron Ramsey can do a good job in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield.
There is good news on the injury front as the manager confirmed that Per Mertesacker, Hector Bellerin and the forgotten forward, Danny Welbeck, are back in training, so they will be in contention to join the side ahead of the vigorous festive period where the games come thick and fast. The club’s captain has kicked the ball just once this season, then suffered a knee injury that has sidelined him for the best part of four months, but in Shkodran Mustafi, Gabriel Paulista and the ever-impressive Rob Holding, Mertesacker’s absence hasn’t been felt at all. Many fans even feel that it would be very difficult for the BFG to return to the starting XI. I’m pleased to know that a player of his immense qualities and leadership will be available for selection once again, so the onus is on the manager to find a way to integrate him back to the side. It’s worth noting that the Kostafi combination has been a colossus at the back.
Hector Bellerin is a player that has grown from strength to strength in the team, and his appearance in the Team of the Year last season was a testament of how improved he had been. Since taking the mantle after Matt Debuchy suffered an unfortunate injury, Bellerin has not looked back and he has excelled under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger. He suffered an ankle injury for the Spanish youth side in the last international break, and the team looked to Carl Jenkinson to fill in the void, as Debuchy continued to struggle with fitness. However, the young Englishman suffered ‘confidence issues’ and the boss had resorted to Gabriel to put a shift there while Bellerin works his way back to full fitness. He also signed a new contract recently that would keep him at the club for quite some time, and that news has been taken well by the fans.
On Welbeck, it seems the team has forgotten he exists but he will always be fondly remembered to two iconic moments in his fledgling Arsenal career;
- The match winning goal in the 2014/15 FA Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United at Old Trafford and
- That late late header against Leicester City last season in February.
He suffered a knee injury in April and missed Euro 2016, and it must have been hard for the lad seeing his teammate strut their stuff on the pitch, while he spends countless hours with the physios working his way up the fitness chain. Hearing that Welbeck is in training again makes me happy, because he’s a player with very good potential and I’m confident he can actualize it at the Emirates.
A full Stoke preview comes up tomorrow.
Sayonara.
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