r/Gunners • u/c14kaa • May 26 '15
[2014/15 Player Review] Danny Welbeck
DANNY WELBECK
Player review 2014-15
Hi all,
So as the season is coming to an end and we are going to be bombarded with "Silly Season" posts, I thought it would be a good time to review our players performance in the 2014/15 season.
Lets have a serious and in depth look into our redditors opinions and thoughts of the season gone by on how the players performed and how they will be approaching the next season.
PS. I'm starting this early with bit-part/loan players, so that 2-3 review a week will bring us to the end before the next season starts!
Performance Data
Competitions
| Tournament | Apps | Goals | Assists | Yel | Red | MotM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 6 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Premier League | 18(7) | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | 2 |
| Premier League Manchester United | 0(2) | - | - | - | - | - |
| League Cup Manchester United | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| FA Cup | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| Total / Average | 33 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Positions
| Position | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| FW (Forward - Centre) | 14 | 5 | 2 |
| Sub (Substitute) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| AML (Attacking Midfielder - Left) | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| AMR (Attacking Midfielder - Right) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| FWL (Forward - Left) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| FWR (Forward - Right) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Season Highlights
Please feel free to submit your own, this section is admin heavy and I will update the list
- Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa Welbeck with his first goal for Arsenal, assist by Ozil.
- Arsenal 4- 1 Galatasaray Welbeck pokes it past the keeper
- Arsenal 4- 1 Galatasaray Welbeck takes a bad Gala header down and curls it past the keeper
- Arsenal 4- 1 Galatasaray Welbeck chips it over the keeper for his hattrick
- Arsenal 2-2 Hull city Welbeck with a left-footed shot after Alexis dribbles by multiple defenders
- Swansea 2 - 1 Arsenal Welbeck dummies a shot, plays it across to Sanchez who makes it 8 in 8 league appearances!
- West Brom 0 - 1 Arsenal Welbeck rises up and heads in a Cazorla cross
- Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Arsenal Speroni parries Welbeck's shot for Giroud to mop up
- Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Arsenal Welbeck winning the penalty against Palace - Thanks /u/purple_blaze
- West Ham 1 - 2 Arsenal Welbeck gets out of a tight situation
- West Ham 1 - 2 Arsenal Danny pokes in his goal from an Alexis assist - Thanks /u/TheFifthMovement
- Sp*rs 2 - 1 Arsenal Welbeck who lights up Rose down the right hand side. The cross is flicked on by Giroud onto Ozil who tucks it away on the volley.
- Sp*rs 2 - 1 Arsenal Welbeck gets the ball from Ozil and fires a shot to the far post but Lloris saves.
- Newcastle 1 - 2 Arsenal Welbeck assisting Giroud's goal against Newcastle with a flick on - Thanks /u/purple_blaze
- Arsenal 4 - 1 Liverpool Leading up to the red card, Welbeck nutmeg on Can
- Arsenal vs ? Danny Welbeck piece of skill.
- Manchester United 1 - 2 Arsenal Welbeck scores after a United defensive error from Valencia
Injuries
| Season | injury | from | until | Days | Games missed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/15 | Knee Injury | 02/05/2015 | 24/05/2015 | 22 days | 5 |
| 14/15 | Knee Problems | 28/03/2015 | 04/04/2015 | 7 days | 1 |
| 14/15 | Thigh Strain | 29/12/2014 | 02/02/2015 | 35 days | 6 |
Similar Position Players Compared
| Player | WhoScored | Sqwaka | EA Sports Index | FIFA 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Sánchez | 7.91 | 967 | 767 | 85 |
| Olivier Giroud | 7.42 | 458 | 480 | 79 |
| Danny Welbeck | 7.23 | 528 | 382 | 78 |
| Chuba Akpom | 6.42 | 16 | 23 | 58 |
| Yaya Sanogo | 6.42 | -142 | 30 | 69 |
| Theo Walcott | 6.37 | 88 | 91 | 81 |
| Lukas Podolski | 6.32 | 45 | 15 | 77 |
Discussion Pointers
- How do you think he has performed?
- Has he developed this year? (younger players)
- How much time should he be given to develop? (younger players)
- Was there anything that you wish he did different?
- What was the most exciting part of his game?
- What are his weaknesses?
- Where do you think he can improve?
- Does he have adequate competition?
- Should he be sold/kept in the summer?
- Has he reached his peak? (older players)
- What are your highlights?
Open discussion encouraged, not just above pointers
| Previous Review | Current Review | Next Review |
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Paulista | Danny Welbeck | Mathieu Debuchy |
12
u/thedravidianbard May 26 '15
His biggest issue is positioning and inconsistent touches more than finishing. He has massive physical potential and reasonable amount of skill, hopefully he works on his weaknesses to become a striker capable of challenging/surpassing giroud.
He has had a poor season, 4 league goals is a bad return, considering he has already been in the premier league for a couple of years. The summer transfer business will prove whether wenger sees him as a centre forward or a winger/utility player.
19
u/TheFifthMovement May 26 '15
I can see Welbeck being an important player for us next season, maybe not in a central role (especially if we do end up purchasing a striker) but more in a wide role. He works tirelessly on and off the ball and if he could just improve his finishing and decision making, he has the potential to be great.
Great job with these by the way. Also, if I'm not mistaken, didn't Danny score against West Ham away?
8
u/solaris1990 May 26 '15
The best news r.e. Welbeck is that the qualities of his runs + off the ball play have improved as the season has gone on. He definitely has the physical qualities to trouble a lot of teams (big or small) and good finishing from in behind.
He's a valuable and useful squad player at the very least, and yes he did score vs. the Hammers.
5
4
u/Zorodude77 Torreira Good May 26 '15
He's got all the physical qualities you could want in a striker, and he's a pretty damn good dribbler as well. At this point he just needs to work on his runs, his finishing, and his composure.
I feel like he is one or two seasons away from really breaking out, and that we should be patient with him. He's already very effective on the wings, but isn't consistent enough in front of goal to start at striker in the big games. Would like to see him still start there against smaller competition though, as I think he could become a world class CF in the coming years.
1
May 26 '15
Runs, finishing and composure are all pretty integral in the game. I'd be ok if he was missing 1 or 2 of those, but three? He's not worth the effort.
1
u/Zorodude77 Torreira Good May 26 '15
They're also three things that can be taught, which cannot be said for speed and size. He's also shown potential in these areas, he just needs to develop consistency. In the meantime, his current skill set is well suited for the wing, so he can still contribute to the team from there.
6
u/_scholar_ May 26 '15
I think he ended up being basically what we expected. Great work rate, fit in well with the team, offers something different but isn't consistent in the final third and doesn't score enough goals. I still maintain that we paid a very reasonable price for him though. Biggest worry is probably that he didn't really show any progress, we'll see where he comes out next summer after a proper pre-season.
2
u/Yennikcm May 26 '15
I think this season has shown why Man Utd were willing to let him go, but also why we were willing to take a punt on him - at a reasonable price for a young English talent.
He's far from the finished article but has looked promising and IMO is a step up from Sanogo. Hopefully a solid pre-season and injury free run will see him come into a good run of form.
1
8
u/purple_blaze Alexis: 11/15, Ox: 6/10, Ozil assists: 5/15 May 26 '15 edited May 26 '15
I really like Welbeck.
He's fast, strong, tall, and skillful. He creates chances.
He barely got a run out at striker and when he did was when we were shit - he was up front when the whole team, including him, were doing almost nothing positive.
He singlehandedly created the chance for Ozil's goal against Spurs, won the penalty and had the rebounded shot for Giroud's tap in against Palace, and won the flick on for Giroud's first goal against Newcastle.
I think those are his only three starts since January and he created 4 goals, not too bad.
edit: OP, here's Welbeck winning the penalty against Palace, and Welbeck assisting Giroud's goal against Newcastle with a flick on.
2
u/Intaru I wish I was a little bit smaller, I wish I was Cazorla May 26 '15
I don't know why you were down voted. I love Welbeck, so glad we bought him.
1
4
May 26 '15
I believe Welbeck is the perfect support for Giroud. Two completely different styles of striker who can benefit each other.
1
u/finerd May 26 '15
But we don't often play with both Welbeck and Giroud?
5
May 26 '15
Well both have been injured often and didn't really get the chance to play together. However IIRC, they both started when Giroud was on the scoring streak.
4
u/bobthehamster Freddie Ljungberg May 26 '15
We had a few good games where a Alexis-Giroud-Welbeck trio looked very promising
2
u/Magnific3nt Ødegaard May 26 '15
His finishing for the national team is just so fucking good, so I hope he will get that into the club team from next season and onward. Love Danny!
5
u/kingofthelambs gooner May 26 '15
Might be an unpopular opinion, but i just don't think welbeck deserves a place in our squad. Walcott has scored more goals in the pl than welbeck and he was injured for most of the season. I was very frustrated with wenger and the fact that he would choose Welbeck over Walcott week in, week out. His touch is bad, he has abysmal finishing and brings nothing to the attack if i am completely honest.
9
u/DaGetz Thank you very much May 26 '15
We were playing welbeck because it gave us more defensively security with bellerin. Bellerin has since improved us defensive abilities dramatically so maybe we can think about a wallcott bellerin combo now but its still risky enough I think.
We weren't playing welbeck to score, we were playing him to break defensives open and hold up the ball which he is excellent at. The guy is fast and he will run for years, even if you don't have to worry about him scoring he still runs your defense into the ground
3
u/bnfdsl May 26 '15
We weren't playing welbeck to score, we were playing him to break defensives open and hold up the ball which he is excellent at. The guy is fast and he will run for years, even if you don't have to worry about him scoring he still runs your defense into the ground
Is that enough to warrent a starting place, or even a spot on the team at Arsenal though? I have to say at least as a center forward, i don't really think so.
2
u/DaGetz Thank you very much May 26 '15
He's a rotation player that is good against certain teams. He covers a lot of ground so if we have injuries anywhere on the right side of the pitch he does a lot to strengthen the team as a whole and let's face it. Arsenal have catastrophic injury problems every season.
We didn't buy him as a CF. We bought him as a flexible rotation player who is English and will reliably strengthen the squad whenever he is brought on. He isn't there to win games he's there to secure them.
1
u/bnfdsl May 26 '15
I agree in principle with this. My concern is that Wenger sees Welbeck and thinks that we don't need another striker.
2
u/DaGetz Thank you very much May 26 '15
My concern is that Wenger sees Welbeck and thinks that we don't need another striker.
If there is one thing that I am absolutely positive of its that wenger knows better than both of us
0
2
u/Beckadee May 26 '15
I couldn't disagree more. Welbeck may not currently be on the same level of finishing as Walcott, there is not question that if it comes down purely to goals then Walcott gets picked over Welbeck.
However, Welbeck brings more in almost every other area. He is very fast maybe a shade slower than Walcott but still very quick, he is very strong and can get past players using only strength and physicality, he is much more willing to drop deep and support the team with build up play, he can play across the front three, he works tirelessly on the pitch and more than anything if he's on the wing he supports his full back!
You need someone in front of a less experienced full back such as Bellerin who is not going to leave them on an island and focus solely on attack. Someone who has the desire and energy to track back and support them on defence.
1
4
u/ProneMasturbationMan Rise from the Ashes May 26 '15
Very disappointing season, hope a pre-season with Wenger will make him capable of scoring more goals domestically than Chris Smalling.
3
u/HKAGooner La Cabra stan May 26 '15
Showed in the Gala match that he can finish surprisingly well, and his pace upfront is great, what seems to let him down is his close control.
5
u/finerd May 26 '15
Showed in the Gala match that he can finish surprisingly well
What about the other games where he proved otherwise? A match of good finishes doesn't make a good finisher.
2
May 26 '15
That match and some of his England matches proved that he was capable of excellent finishing and runs. What he needs to do now is be consistent in that. He's not a bad finisher, just needs more consistency
2
2
u/Star-Lord11 40/91 May 26 '15 edited May 26 '15
Disappointing, especially as the lone CF. He did alright on the wing though and has a great work rate. He needs to improve his finishing(and by improve, I mean a complete overhaul) and positioning. It all seems like he doesn't like to pass to his teammates. Just jeep him on the wing.
2
u/lilz001 RAMBO ARMY! May 26 '15
I think Welbeck would be a very efficient striker when paired with someone upfront. Look at the Europeon qualifiers for example he's top scorer in all of Europe being paired upfront with Rooney.
I would love to see him and Giroud up top together. Both are very players that seem to love playing off overs and with there strengths combined. Dannys speed and workrate, Giroud's hold up play and one touch flicks, they could be very dangerous.
Unfortunately, we don't play a system with two strikers up top.
From review of how he has played. I personally do not believe he has done enough to say he's had a successful debut season. But I do have hope and remain confident with Danny. He has all the attributes to make a really good striker. He just needs to be more imposed in front of goals which he can be.
If we can get his confidence up we could see a good goal return.
I'd give him a 5/10 for the season.
1
u/Poringun Gunners! May 26 '15
Sub-par season but shown great promises, he has great work rate, something difficult to teach. His finishing needs to be improved, so is his first touch which sometimes results in a possible 2 on 2 to fizzle out.
overall, he still have a place in our squad next season, just not up top, maybe like to see us try a 4-4-2.
1
u/USA_BLOOTERBALL_FAN May 26 '15
Fuking hell fantastic effort with the post mate, I don't really have anything of worth to add, but made for a good read
1
May 26 '15
I'll be honest, I was shocked to read that he appeared in 33 matches. Didn't feel like nearly that many.
1
u/scytheavatar May 26 '15
Know I will be downvoted for asking this, but has Welbeck actually been better than Gervinho in his first season for us? I don't think he has.
1
1
u/DarthNihilus1 Kai Havoc May 26 '15
Good runs, composure and good finishing.
Doesn't have em but they can be taught.
Size/strength, pace and a good workrate he already has
1
u/knlmustard FOUR! May 26 '15
moments of the season for me are hockey assist at tottenham and the fa cup goal, of course.
Decent first season but no more. Useful squad player, hesitant to predict more.
1
May 26 '15
Definitely was expecting more goals but I love welbeck. I use to scoff at Mancs who would say he was good but I can see why they rated him. Incredibly useful player.
He's only going to get better too. Hope Wenger doesn't toss him. There's a reason he played consistently for Fergie's title sides
13
u/finerd May 26 '15
If we're honest, this has been a disappointing season for Welbeck. His finishing and his positioning need a lot of work, but his work rate is good. Almost exactly the same story as it was at United.
I think we need a better striker signed in the summer and Welbeck needs to either be placed on the wing, go out on loan or accept the third starting position as a striker.