Danny Welbeck’s sumptuous finish set the tone for our 5-0 win over Southampton on Saturday. You’d never have thought he’d been out for so long.
Naturally, Danny’s star turn was the main topic of conversation when Arsene Wenger sat down for his post-match press conference. Here’s the boss’ tribute:
on Welbeck’s performance…
I knew that he worked very hard, but you never know how much efficiency there will be… to transfer that into a competitive game. I think it was great to see that he hasn’t lost his runs, he hasn’t lost his finishing. It shows as well, when you are able to transform that frustration of not playing into efficiency, that’s a special guy.
on Welbeck not losing his attributes…
It didn’t look that way at all. We have always two fears - the first is that it takes him too long to get the decision-making, and secondly that the player is scared to go into any contact. When he made the runs and was fighting the defender, for me that was a very important moment for him.
on Welbeck getting his ‘zip’ back…
He worked very hard and he went through some moments of very deep disappointment. When he had the setback and we had to go in the knee again, when you’re a professional football player, that’s absolutely difficult. After the first disappointment, he became even more resilient and worked even harder. He’s highly respected inside the club because he has shown so much dedication, never moaned, worked very hard and tonight everybody is delighted for him.
on if he ever had doubts over Welbeck’s comeback…
You wonder. I wondered first of all if he’d be solid enough mentally to cope with that. I’m not a medical specialist but you hope that it will all go well after he comes back after the second surgery.
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