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Wenger - Why I brought Welbeck on

Arsene Wenger says Danny Welbeck’s direct running was crucial to Arsenal’s victory over Norwich City.

The England international scored the only goal of a tightly-contested game at Emirates Stadium just three minutes after replacing Alex Iwobi before the hour mark.

Welbeck has featured almost exclusively as a centre forward this season but played on the left against Norwich because of his ability to stretch the Canaries' backline.

"We were a bit subdued at the start - serious, but not fluent enough and not quick enough or sharp enough"

“I saw the opportunity there, because Alex Iwobi comes more towards the ball but, with a runner in behind on our left side, there was some room to exploit, and Danny did that very well,” Wenger told Arsenal Player. “On top of that he scored a goal when he came on.

“That is good for his confidence as well. Overall I’m very happy.

“We were a bit subdued at the start - serious, but not fluent enough and not quick enough or sharp enough. During that period in the first half, we needed not to concede a goal.

“After that, we slowly took over and in the end we won 1-0. That’s what we needed above all. It was a bit of a strange atmosphere and the most important thing for us was to win the game.

“In these kind of games, you know that you will have a fight until the last second. We’ve just played two teams who fight not to go down.

“When people look at the table, they think [you will get] six points, but we have seen that you have to work very hard to get the points.”

 

Welbeck goal v Norwich City