Wenger - Scoring goals is ‘animalistic'

Arsene Wenger believes Danny Welbeck has the potential to become an instinctive finisher playing as Arsenal’s central striker.

Welbeck's scoring record at Manchester United was questioned, but he made the majority of his appearances for his former club on the left of midfield.

Since Wenger moved Welbeck to a central role for his first three Arsenal games, the striker has thrived, scoring his first Gunners goal as well as assisting Mesut Ozil on Saturday against Aston Villa.

“He’s a good finisher but he’s played wide for Manchester United in the last two or three years and has lost a little bit of instinct to score,” Wenger said.

“It’s a bit animalistic to score. You need to be in the middle and you always need to wait for your chance to get the ball. On the flank you have less of that responsibility.

“When you play wide you have to cross the ball for somebody else to score. Playing in the middle, somebody has to go on the flank and cross the ball for you to score, so it’s a different job.

“He [Welbeck] has an interesting potential. He has a good mentality, good physical potential and good technical potential. He contributes to our team play because he doesn’t lose the ball up front and those are important qualities.

“To get that [scoring] instinct, it’s not selfish. I like a striker who gives the ball when he has to give the ball and scores when he can score. The fact that he can provide and score, like he did today, is very important.”