Welbeck backed for World Cup
Arsene Wenger predicts that Danny Welbeck’s past knee injury woes could deliver an unexpected boost to Gareth Southgate’s England at this summer’s World Cup.
Welbeck missed 70 games between May 2015 and Jan 2017 with patellar and cartilage issues but has finally begun to show his best form for Arsenal, scoring five goals in five games to help the club into the Europa League semi-finals.
Having also reached the League Cup final, Wenger has wider concerns about Arsenal’s collective fatigue amid a potential 61 games this season, but believes that Welbeck has inadvertently now reached optimum physical condition. He scored a crucial away goal against CSKA Moscow on Thursday when Arsenal – who travel to face Newcastle today – were on the brink of exiting the Europa League and, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan injured, Welbeck again a regular starter.
Asked if Welbeck was now fresher after missing games, Wenger said: “Danny shows that at the moment. For Danny, it has been very good recently because he got games. He needed games and what is good is that he has a combination of power, pace and determination when he is really at his best physically. He looks like that is where he is now.
“Maybe he would not be there now if he’d played all the games. If Danny is injuryfree, he’s a very good player.” Welbeck was selected in Southgate’s England squad for the recent matches against Italy and Holland and Wenger believes that his versatility makes him a valuable option in Russia.
The Frenchman said: “The recall reminded him that he is not completely forgotten because everybody is talking about Harry Kane – and rightly so.
“But there is room for him. If you are national coach, he can play wide – on the right, on the left – and central. He can play with anybody.”
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, meanwhile, paid tribute to Wenger’s 22 years in charge at Arsenal, and suggested he wanted to spend the next decade of his career at St James’ Park.
In a clear message to owner Mike Ashley, he said: “I want to be competitive and win. You need to have a mix of young players and players with experience and that means you have to spend some money because, if not, you cannot compete now and win something.”