Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck ready to step up in Henrikh Mkhitaryan's absence as he relishes competition

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James Olley9 April 2018

Danny Welbeck insists he is relishing the competition for places at Arsenal and believes Sunday’s two-goal salvo against Southampton proves he is ready to replace Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The 27-year-old helped the Gunners edge a hard-fought contest at Emirates Stadium in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cancelled out Shane Long’s opener before Welbeck scored either side of substitute Charlie Austin’s 73rd-minute equaliser.

It was a rollercoaster afternoon for Welbeck, who produced a deft flick to assist Aubameyang’s effort but also missed an open goal from three yards with the score at 2-2 before heading home late on to move Arsenal within three points of fifth-placed Chelsea.

The Europa League has become Arsene Wenger’s priority, however, and although they head into Thursday’s quarter-final, second leg with a 4-1 lead over CSKA Moscow, the club’s preparations were dealt a blow with Mkhitaryan now facing a fight to play again this season, having suffered an ankle injury against the Russians last week.

But after making a match-winning contribution from a left-wing position Mkhitaryan sometimes operates in, Welbeck said: “We all wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully he is available as soon as possible but it is the manager’s decision who he wants in the team.

“Obviously, with the goals yesterday I’ve staked my claim. It was decent to get a couple of goals and the assist. The miss, it isn’t like I wanted to miss. I just couldn’t stretch enough to get there.

“You just have to know there is going to be another opportunity and you have to keep focused. I’ve been through much tougher stuff than that.”

Wenger alluded to that “much tougher stuff” in praising Welbeck for his resilience after overcoming serious knee injuries to return to full fitness.

The arrival of Aubameyang for a club-record £56million came just six months after Arsenal spent £52.7m on another striker, Alexandre Lacazette, placing Welbeck under further pressure to justify his presence in the squad.

However, after scoring his first League goals since September 9 and taking his overall tally to nine for the campaign, Welbeck cited the challenges he faced as a youngster at Manchester United, where he battled for recognition alongside Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Robin van Persie and Dimitar Berbatov.

“As you’ve seen, I can play with Pierre and with Laca,” he told Standard Sport. “It is nice. It gives you that added motivation. The competition is there so you are going to improve and better yourself.

“I’ve had that throughout my career. There are always going to be critics. You see people are criticising Cristiano Ronaldo and he’s at the pinnacle. Every day, you can do something good and people will have something bad to say about you. You just get on with it.”

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