Deemed not good enough by United, Welbeck is gunning them down at Arsenal

As the aftermath of National Jim White Day died down – or Transfer Deadline Day to mere mortals, Arsenal fans were once again left mourning what could have been.

They were linked with a wealth of top quality players over the summer, from Edinson Cavani to Sami Khedira, Karim Benzema to Radamel Falcao, yet ended up with Danny Welbeck.

Not only did they land the outcast from Old Trafford, deemed substandard by new manager Louis van Gaal, they also saw Arsene Wenger jet off to referee a charity game on deadline day and the aforementioned Radamel Falcao move to Manchester United.

All those promises, so little delivery from Wenger. As per usual.

Or so it seemed.

Welbeck managed to net a hat-trick for the Gunners in the Champions League to see them stun Galatasaray and has actually impressed since making the switch from Manchester to north London.

He is also profiting from the fact that media favourite Mario Balotelli was passed over by Wenger not once but twice, and cost Brendan Rodgers the same amount of cash as he did Wenger. And has so far failed to deliver.

Whilst the stick being thrown at the Italian is undoubtedly harsh, it does highlight a fair few qualities possessed by Welbeck that Balotelli is seriously lacking – and none are the God given talent possessed by the Liverpool forward.

No, when  it comes to a contest where raw talent is the matter in question, there is only one winner, and it is by a country mile.

However when you consider the man made – or player made – qualities between the two, Welbeck has the upper hand in spades.

He works so hard for not only himself but also the team. He is, as many a pundit has claimed, someone who inspires his teammates to work harder and push themselves that little bit further. He has nothing but respect for the managers he plays under and takes pretty much everything on the chin.

He is always willing to applaud supporters and whilst he might be a bit of a yes man, and certainly not a maverick like Mario, he is a constant, an ever present and someone who you can always rely on to do his best.

In terms of producing a piece of magic, obviously Balotelli is the man, but for pretty much everything else, Welbeck has so far proven to be the one on top and that has not gone unnoticed by pundits and fans alike.

One can only imagine how Welbeck is revelling in the plaudits being thrown his way currently and despite forgetting the match ball last night, he will not forget his hat-tick in a hurry.

After an indifferent season under David Moyes, a fair few Manchester United players will have hoped to impress Louis van Gaal and show what they could do with Welbeck being no different. Sadly for the England international, he was deemed inferior to Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, and when Radamel Falcao became available, it was a no brainer for Van Gaal.

Whilst Welbeck may feel hard done by after being discarded by Manchester United, the club he spent so many years with and went from being a wannabe to a first team star at, you cannot blame Van Gaal for coming to that opinion when looking at the forward.

The stats back him up and the misses that Welbeck is guilty of making on an all too frequent basis are shocking at best. He is a good player. He works hard and has enough talent to make it at a very good Premier League club – but one that considers itself to be world class? No, and whilst they may be a million miles away from that at the minute, United want to get back to that and they have a manager with that type of mentality.

They also have a forward line that would make the starting eleven at the Camp Nou, Etihad, Juventus Arena, Parc Des Prince or just about any other stadium in the world. Welbeck meanwhile would not even make the bench at most of these clubs.

That is not to say the boy is without talent – he is not. But he has found his level at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger and is thriving because of it.

Quite if that will continue to be the case should a player like Edinson Cavani arrive come January remains to be seen, but Welbeck can probably rest assured in the knowledge that firstly, Wenger would never shell out such a huge fee for a player and secondly, at least he managed to join Arsenal and not Spurs – oh and thirdly, he will probably finish above his old club this season at least.

Arsenal fans. Will Welbeck show Manchester United what they are missing or is this just a case of beginners luck? Let us know your thoughts below or tweet us @LaFootyettes.