Are Arsenal getting their money’s worth from 30 Premier League goal ace?

In my early days, I played for an absolutely rubbish Sunday league team. We were useless. Defeats to the tune of 11-0 and 12-0 were familiar to us every week, but when your a kid playing under 14’s football, you couldn’t feel more like a superstar.

The boots, the shin pads, the shirts with your own number, (we could just about afford the numbers, forget the names on the back) we were boys playing the game we love.

There is a common theme that runs right through our English game. From Sunday league, grassroots level, to the upper echelon of the Premier Division, it’s that ‘get stuck in’ mentality we have. Those words your as likely to hear at the Emirates just as you are at Hackney marshes.

I heard it a lot as a young boy. There is something about desire, passion and a never-give-up attitude that warms the hearts of us English. We applaud and celebrate the imagery of Terry Butcher’s bloodstained England shirt in 1989 just as much, if not more than the flair and audacity of Paul Gascoigne against Scotland at Euro 96.

And it’s this I believe, that explains why Danny Welbeck has hit the heights in his football career.

Just to be clear, there is so much more to his game than his work rate, but anyone who has meticulously judged his game knows it is the central theme to his style of play.

‘Dat guy Welbz’ is an athlete; incredibly strong, versatile, super quick and doesn’t half put a shift in. It’s these very attributes that lead me to believe Welbeck would do well at any club in the country, but there has been a seamless, smooth transition from Manchester to North London, in my opinion, for him.

Where the confusion lies in Welbeck, is that given all what he seems capable of doing, he’s never seemed convincing enough when given the opportunity. The stats would point to his goal record, and to his credit, it doesn’t tell a full story, but for the very good finisher that he is, he doesn’t get enough goals regardless of where he’s been told to play.

In a team full of fleet-footed ballet dancers, Welbeck holds his own. In a team full of 100m sprinters, Welbeck won’t be left behind, in a team full of very good finishers, Welbeck will be rubbing shoulders. In these areas at Arsenal, Danny boy probably will never be considered the best, but there are only a few in the squad like him who demonstrates the effort and desire that we English love about our footballers.

Since his deadline day move in September 14′, Danny Welbeck has done probably as well as was expected of him; a few goals, a couple of superb individual performances (Galatasaray immediately springs to mind) and the usual all action, never give up type of play we can appreciate.

Welbz may not win any individual awards, but if there was such a thing as a ‘get stuck in’ award, he’d be in the running every year.

So far, so good is my estimation. But you can’t help but think it will only ever just be ‘good’ for number 23.

Driving Arsenal to success?