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Welbeck and Iwobi – Arsenal’s Future Up Front?

Welbeck and Iwobi – Arsenal’s Future Up Front?

That was a big win for Arsenal this afternoon, and it involved some big decisions from the manager, and some big performances from those in whom he put his faith.

Chiefly, Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck continued to impress, having been two bright sparks in a disappointing month for the Gunners, and it could be their contributions, specifically in tandem with one another, that propel us through the final eight games of this Premier League season.

Though it would perhaps be harsh to claim that Olivier Giroud has been stifling us up front this season, it is certainly the case that Welbeck has injected a fresh ounce of pace and determination into the line-up, whilst Iwobi has seized his chance in recent weeks, and might have solved the problem that we have been facing on the right wing all season.

Watching the pair link up time and time again against Everton, it occurred to me that this might actually be a fairly deadly duo to include in our forward line during the run-in, and could be our secret weapon, what with the positive influence that they have on the team as a whole. With Danny only just returning from injury a month ago against Leicester (we all remember that game, right?) and Alex trying to make good on the potential that he demonstrated for years in our academy, both have something to prove, and that could be the x-factor over their competitors for their starting berths.

As they demonstrated this afternoon, Welbeck and Iwobi both possess a similar turn of pace to get away from their marker, and though Danny’s first touch can let him down, both are blessed with great skill once they get the ball under control at their feet. This allows them to get where their teammates need them to be, in a way that Theo Walcott, for example, perhaps cannot.

The two link up superbly together, because they are able to play on the front foot, slightly ahead of the play, and being similar players, share an understanding of where the other will be that usually takes far longer to develop at the top level. Though Giroud is often heralded (as I have done in the past) for his ability to hold up the play and bring others into the game, neither Welbeck or Iwobi is lacking in strength, and with that connection between the pair, expect them to unlock far tougher defences than Everton’s in the future.

This is also key to their wider role in the team, as we saw during the first half of today’s game that their presence and movement up front can also give Alexis the opportunity to more effectively influence matches. When the Chilean is not tasked with tracking back to win the ball, or forced to take on defender after defender, he is more precise and clinical, happy to lay the ball off and get into better positions, rather than holding onto it for far too long, and ending up losing possession.

Though it was partially this that allowed Alexis to set up Welbeck beautifully for the first goal, it is also fun to imagine just how many times Mesut could play that kind of through-ball over the coming months, where we will surely have more chance in front of goal than with the lacklustre finishing that we have seen from other players in recent weeks.

It was certainly not a classic Özil masterclass at Goodison, but the potential is most definitely there, and whereas with Giroud and Walcott in the forward three, you are looking at either crossing the ball in hope (something that we are not particularly successful at) or relying solely on those passes in the final third (which hasn’t worked out for us recently), Danny blends both styles into one. If he can become even more clinical, and really get consistent in his finishing, then he can be a top striker in the Premier League, and all of the evidence since his return from injury, scoring three in five league games (four in nine in total), has suggested that this could well be the case.

Whilst we have watched in awe before as our forwards seamlessly blend the different roles, with Alexis, Welbeck, Walcott and even Giroud to an extent able to swap positions across the forward line, that has not been a factor in our game in 2016 as of yet, and I believe that Welbeck and Iwobi can bring this back into our performances. Neither is much fun for a defender to mark at the best of times, and their ability to move in from the wing for periods of the game, or draw their marker out of position will only serve to increase this unpredictability to our play. Again, this is bound to help with regards to getting Alexis more involved in the game as well.

Perhaps the best part about this potential future line-up is that, if successful, it could have legs for years to come. Iwobi is 19, Welbeck 25, the former is only just beginning his career at Arsenal, and the latter is still a year or so away from what is traditionally regarded as the prime of a striker’s career. Whilst names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Reus might be linked to the club this summer, sometimes the best policy, as hard as this is to accept, is to stick with the players that we know, and give them the chance to reach their full potential.

Francis Coquelin would never have had the opportunity to prove his worth if we had packed the midfield with the Yann M’Vila’s and Luis Gustavo’s of the world, and there are so many great players in our academy that deserve a chance at first team football at least.

Whether they are still starting at the beginning of the 2016/17 season or not, there can surely be no doubt that both Welbeck and Iwobi deserve to see this season out as Arsenal’s first choices in the forward line, and there are several reasons why that could be a very exciting and effective pairing for the club, not least their names being on the score sheet in stylish fashion this afternoon.