Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hails 'exceptional' Danny Welbeck as striker 'gets back to his best'

Action Images via Reuters
James Benge9 April 2018

Arsene Wenger praised Danny Welbeck for climbing a mountain some might have thought was “too big to climb” after the forward scored two and assisted the other in Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Southampton.

Welbeck slipped in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to level the score at 1-1 in the first half before notching his side's second, via a Maya Yoshida deflection, and then heading home the winner nine minutes from time.

The brace was Welbeck’s second in his last three games and took his goal tally to nine for the season, his best return since the 2013-14 campaign.

In the intervening years Welbeck has suffered major knee injuries in both legs, restricting him to 103 appearances since joining Arsenal. This has been his first full season in three years and Wenger praised the 27-year-old’s “exceptional” achievement.

In Pictures | Arsenal vs Southampton | 08/04/2018

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“Danny Welbeck has been getting sharper," he told reporters. "He has been out for a while, now he comes slowly back to his best. I’m personally very happy and pleased for him because this guy has gone through some difficult times.

“I’ve seen him behave when it was really hard and tough. He deserves everything he gets. He had every reason to feel sorry for himself, to think this mountain is too big to climb, with the right knee, the left knee, and a year out every time.

"He worked hard unnoticed by everybody. People were questioning will he come back or not. To continue to go is the most difficult test for any sports person. What he has done is exceptional.”

REUTERS

​Welbeck was not the only forward on the fringes of Wenger’s squad to sparkle, with Alex Iwobi providing two assists and playing a crucial role in the build-up to Aubameyang’s equaliser.

Wenger was able to hand 18-year-old Reiss Nelson a debut, call on Alexandre Lacazette from the bench and did not even require a spark of invention from Mesut Ozil or the injured Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is set to miss at least the next two weeks with a knee ligament injury.

Such is the wealth of talent available to him, Wenger was willing to suggest he is unlikely to reinforce his frontline in the summer.

He added: “We have a good side and there is no need to buy players on that level because we have as well young, promising strikers.”

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