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| Welbeck (Right) with new team mates Alexis Sanchez (Left) and Jack Wilshere (Centre) |
"United’s Identity is broken.”
These strong words came from the mouth of former Manchester United backroom stalwart Mike Phelan in the aftermath of academy product Danny Welbeck’s deadline day move to Arsenal, a move that was undoubtedly, in part, pushed through in order to facilitate the arrival of Colombian Superstar Radamel Falcao at Old Trafford. Welbeck himself, hardly first choice at the Theatre of Dreams, seized the chance of playing regularly at the highest level by switching the North West for North London. But after Wenger’s recent comments stating he’d have preferred Welbeck on loan, the question now is, who truly benefits from the move?
The general consensus is that the Red Devils will lose out. Sacrificing youth for expensive international talent has never truly been the United way. Sir Alex Ferguson himself reiterated this fact just a matter of years ago in the face of mass spending by Chelsea under Roman Abramovich. One eye-catching fact is that Manchester United have played 3,704 consecutive first team games, since October 1937, with a youth product in the squad. Is this staggering record now in jeopardy?
Arsenal meanwhile gain a young English forward, vital for Champions League Home Grown Player regulations in itself, who has often been labelled as having ‘potential’ yet never truly delivering. The English understudy to more expensive overseas imports. Sound familiar? Reminiscent of a certain Daniel Sturridge at Manchester City and Chelsea.
Sturridge of course is now the England national team’s main centre forward and arguably one of the best forwards in Europe, scoring frequently, netting 21 times in the Premier League last term, only surpassed by former team mate and controversial Uruguayan maestro, Luis Suarez.
So could the same happen to Welbeck at Arsenal? The omens are good. Welbeck was, in effect, brought in to fill in for injury stricken Olivier Giroud, sidelined for around three months following his ankle break at Everton last month. Having never truly been played as an out-and-out centre forward, he left Arsenal fans licking their lips at such a prospect following his excellent display against Switzerland for England in that role earlier in the week, during which he netted two clinically taken goals.
He should also fit the Arsenal system too. A spearhead with pace, a target for Arsenal’s overflowing creative engine to pick out. All reminiscent of the role Sturridge filled at Liverpool. Perhaps he can help bring the best out of a somewhat anonymous Mesut Ozil, who has yet to truly hit the heights of the form that merited a £40 million transfer.
Welbeck too from the outset would appear to be a huge beneficiary from the transfer. Regular football, Champions League football which of course he would not have got at Old Trafford this season, but also being played in a position he has always to play and believed he can play. Centre Forward – the main man, the man for goals.
But will this be the case? Louis van Gaal stated that Welbeck doesn’t “score enough”, thus not having a record comparable with the likes of Robin van Persie nor Wayne Rooney. Yes, he is young, still only 23. But it is not as though he has not been around for a while. Welbeck made his debut at 17. Even before that, his youth record hardly screams of a proven goal scorer, netting a mere 20 goals in 90 youth appearances. So what’s to say that this will all change at Arsenal?
It is even more questionable as to whether he will get the first team opportunities he so craves at the Emirates. Once Wenger has Giroud and Walcott both fit again, as well as having Joel Campbell, Alexis Sanchez, Lukas Podolski and yes, *cough*, Yaya Sanogo all available for selection, there is no guarantee whatsoever that Welbeck will be first team week in week out. Wenger loves to turn a rough diamond into a Brilliant cut, but will he prefer to focus on new boy Welbeck or personal prodigé, Yaya Sanogo? Wenger himself even went as far as to reveal that if he were in the country on deadline day (he was taking part at a ‘Match for Peace’ in Rome) Welbeck would not have signed for Arsenal at all. Some statement to make about a £16 million new signing, eh?
Manchester United, despite the criticism that has been voiced over the sale of Welbeck, perhaps are the real winners from the sale. On a basic level, they take £16 million from home grown produce. Moreover, not only have they offloaded an incomplete article, but they’ve replaced him with one of the World’s finest finishers in Radamel Falcao, a player who was also chased by Arsenal. Interesting.
What’s more, claims about United’s abandonment of youth also seem, on reflection, wide of the mark. Tyler Blackett, an academy product, has played in all three of United’s Premier League games this season, although such a regular run of games is unlikely to continue since the arrivals of Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo.
But all is by no means lost. With the departure of Hernandez as well as Welbeck, promising striker James Wilson looks set to fill in as fourth choice forward. Here’s a young player with an eye for goal that Welbeck as a youngster simply did not have by comparison.
Wilson will get his chance too under Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal is no money-spending focused manager. Here is a man credited with bringing through the likes of Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids at Ajax, the likes of Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona. Anyone who was able to catch a glimpse of United preseason will have seen a squad laced with youngsters given a chance to show what they have got to offer. If they’re good enough, they will play under Louis Van Gaal, there is little doubt about that.
So why did he let a player like Welbeck, who has all the attributes to be a potent goal scorer with the right guidance, go? The answer is pressure. Van Gaal has to finish in the top four this season. Nothing else is good enough. In addition, he’s had to attempt it with a squad that was, as of May last season, nowhere near the standard of England’s top four clubs (Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal). In order to achieve instant success he has to do what United have had the luxury of not having to do for the last twenty years under Sir Alex Ferguson – spend big to refurbish. Once United re-establish Champions League income with a squad capable of regularly competing not just for the top four, but for the title itself, then players of the calibre of a Danny Welbeck will be given a greater chance to flourish.
Only time will tell if Danny Welbeck’s move to Arsenal will be a success. There is absolutely no doubt that he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Sturridge and establish himself properly with the backing of a strong squad and a manager of faith behind him. But whether he does that, or is able to do that, is another matter. United fans meanwhile can sit comfortably in the knowledge that they have replaced an average ratio goal scorer with a world class one.
IMAGE: caughtoffside.com
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