Man United vs Arsenal: Danny Welbeck convinced quitting Old Trafford for Gunners has made him a better player

Danny Welbeck will head back to Old Trafford to face former club Manchester United for the first time after being called invaluable to Arsenal by their manager, Arsene Wenger.
 

Rest assured: Wenger has played down Welbeck's lack of activity in the past two games

 

England striker Welbeck joined Arsenal on deadline day last summer in a £16million deal, and is still battling to take centre stage as he prepares to face his boyhood club in Monday night’s FA Cup quarter-final.

Welbeck left United because he was fed-up of being playing wide rather than as a centre-forward yet finds himself in a similar situation at Arsenal, who are also often using him on the flanks instead of in his preferred position.

But Gunners boss Wenger launched a staunch defence of the versatile forward (who hates being called versatile) at his Friday press conference.

Wenger said: “He’s very important and has played many, many games since the start of the season. I think he’s played in nearly every single game. His position is one of the three up front, central, left of right. He can play anywhere.

“If you check the statistics, you will see he is one of the players who has played the most games for us - just not in the last couple of games (Welbeck has played a total of FOUR minutes as a sub in this week's wins over Everton and QPR).

Wide boy: Welbeck hoped to end his days on the flanks but is being used there by Arsenal too

"You can make an individual debate on every single player, that is always a possibility, but what is important is that you have moments in the season where some players play a bit less. Most of the time it’s up front, because not every single player can play every game in the biggest part of the season.

“You have a player like Olivier Giroud, who is playing at the moment but he missed four months (of the season through injury). During that period, Welbeck played every single game.”

Welbeck did appear in every single game but failed to down the position by the time Giroud returned to fitness and the Frenchman went straight back into the team as the main man.

Manchester-born Welbeck, who was first spotted by United when he was just six, has scored seven goals since his move and the old question marks remain about whether he is prolific enough and also playing on the wing.

One former England international claimed Welbeck is a nightmare to play against because of his work rate, pace and energy.

He is almost like Emile Heskey in that people within the game appreciate him more than some of the fans and critics.