ALL IS NOT WEL (BUT IT’S GETTING BETTER)
Wenger admits Welbeck lost confidence after his injury woe but hopes he’s ready to fire again
ARSENE WENGER believes Danny Welbeck has lost confidence due to his injury nightmare.
But the Arsenal boss backed him to regain the form that once made him an England shoo-in – inspired by fitagain Jack Wilshere.
Welbeck was handed a rare start up front last week against Ostersund and struggled.
But Wenger is seeing signs in training that Welbeck, now 27, is regaining his old sharpness.
When he joined Arsenal from Manchester United in 2014, the striker was on a high, a key player for his country and started England’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in prolific form with six goals in five games.
But just three days after scoring in England’s 4-0 win over Lithuania on March 2015, Welbeck’s knee injury woes began.
He went on to miss a staggering 70 games between May 2015 and January 2017 due to three separate knee problems. Hip and groin issues last year further hampered Welbeck and Wenger said: “He came through well in Ostersund and for him, in his head, it was very important that he came out of that game without having any problems.
“Even with a muscular injury you lose faith quickly. One of the advantages of being young is that you feel undestroyable.
“Sometimes the players are very confident, very arrogant, but as soon as they lose that belief in their body, suddenly you are lost and you don’t know any more what is going on.
“There was a time when he played for England in Switzerland where he scored twice and looked absolutely marvellous.
“He was already here and he is a player we all want and would like to come back. I see signs of him now in training where he is like that period.
“It’s difficult to imagine a guy who has basically been out for one-and-a-half years at 25 years of age, that’s absolutely traumatic.”
Asked if Welbeck can get back the qualities he lost, Wenger insisted: “You can get it back, but it takes time. Similar to Jack Wilshere.
“When you are in this kind of situation, you become closer to the guys who are in the same situation.”
Welbeck’s Arsenal deal is up next summer and Wenger added: “I want to keep him because he has gone through a torrid time. If he can stay on the pitch and not be injured, I want him to stay here.”
While Welbeck toiled without personal reward in freezing Ostersund last week, Arsenal secured a 3-0 win that virtually assured them of a last-16 place.
But Wenger warned his players ahead of tonight’s second leg: “It would be absolutely stupid for us to think we go out there and have a stroll. We could have a bad surprise.”