Arsenal shocked us everyone last night by signing Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck. The Gunners badly needed a striker and had been linked with several big names like Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao throughout the summer. In the end, with time ticking away for the transfer window to slam shut, they hurried quickly to sign Welbeck for a reported fee of £16m.
Is it a panic buy? Well, to a certain extent yes. He was never the first choice target of Wenger. The likes of Cavani, Falcao and Destro were thought to be the prime targets and only after receiving rejections from every doors, the Gunners made a late and shock move for him.
For a player who has scored 19 league goals in past three seasons and his new manager doesn’t find him good enough for the club, this signing largely represents a gamble. The sheer fact that United allowed the deal (with rivals & potential title challengers) to happen with just few hours left on the clock suggest how desperate they were to see the back of him.
Yes, it is a gamble. But a calculated one. He is young, hard worker, versatile, talented and has the mentality to adapt. Probably he needs to work up on his finishing part a bit but with age on his side, he should be able to rectify this flaw in his game in future. Under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, who has a great reputation of nurturing young talents, one can expect Welbeck to flourish at North London.
He is primarily a centre-forward but with big names ahead of him at Manchester United, it wasn’t possible for him to play in his favoured position week in week out. Therefore, he had to accept the wide roles presented to him. But, whenever the England international has been given a chance to play as forward, he rarely disappointed.
Simply because, he is a typical modern striker. He has that ability to bring in lot more to the game than just simply stationing himself upfront.
Last season, during the busy festive period, he was installed as a lone striker with Rooney behind and be bagged six goals in nine matches in all competitions.
A natural comparison comes here with his international team-mate Daniel Sturridge. Critics were largely skeptical about his move to Liverpool, with many even claimed the signing as a big gamble.
At Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers is carefully polishing an uncut diamond and the result is before all of us to see and appreciate. Likewise, Welbeck can be transformed.
Welbeck should nicely fit into the system at Arsenal. He won’t take much time settling into a new environment and being a technically strong player should adapt easily to the pass and move style of the Gunners. Overall he may not represent the shiny toy purchased from the market but can be an effective buy.
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