Danny Welbeck Showed Against Switzerland That He Can Be a No. 9

In every sense, Danny Welbeck was England’s No. 9 against Switzerland on Monday night. Never before had so much been asked of the 23-year-old striker, and never before had he delivered so much.

Welbeck thrived with the No. 9 shirt on his back. With Daniel Sturridge out injured, the goalscoring burden was firmly placed on Welbeck. And Arsenal’s latest signing delivered, bagging a brace in an impressive 2-0 win for England.

Both goals illustrated the potential Welbeck has as an attacking frontman, with England making full use of his pace and innate threat on the counter-attack. Somewhere, Arsene Wenger was presumably watching with a smug grin on his face.

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The role that Roy Hodgson asked Welbeck to play in Basel is the one he will be briefed with in Arsenal, at least in his first few months at the club. Olivier Giroud’s ankle injury, which will sideline the French striker until at least December, means goals will be demanded of Welbeck from the moment he makes his Gunners debut.

Questions have been asked of Welbeck’s true capacity as a central striker, with his goalscoring record his most obvious flaw. In fact, he scored just twice in over 40 appearances in the 2012/13 season, when Man United won the Premier League title. Welbeck certainly played his part in that success, but not as a goalscorer.

Turning Welbeck into a reliable source of goals is the challenge that Wenger now faces, and against Switzerland there were signs that it’s a role the player might embrace.

Of course, over the course of his career Welbeck has largely kept his best form for the international stage, finishing 2012 as England’s top scorer. Now he must translate that into his club record.

Welbeck doesn’t have to look far for precedent. The 23-year-old should look to follow the trajectory of the man he replaced as the No. 9 in the England lineup against Switzerland—Sturridge.

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At Chelsea, there was little doubt concerning Sturridge’s potential as one of the best strikers in the Premier League. Yet glimpses of that ability were all too rare, with his goalscoring record rather meek. 

But at Liverpool, under a manager who played to his strengths and placed unwavering faith in him, Sturridge flourished. Now Chelsea must ponder what might have been had they persevered with the striker, especially considering their own deficiencies up front.

Welbeck might actually possess more in the way of physical and technical attributes than Sturridge. That is what makes his arrival at Arsenal genuinely exciting for fans of the Gunners. If Wenger can harness his potential, Welbeck could become one of the best in Europe.

“I envisaged myself playing in this team before,” Welbeck told the club’s official website upon his unveiling as an Arsenal player. “With the magnificent players in midfield, I can run on to the end of those balls and slot them away.

“I’d like to bring pace and power to the game. At Arsenal we’re not short of combination football and I like to join in on that and get in behind defenders.”

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Indeed, Arsenal’s style of play does—on the face of it, at least—seem to dovetail perfectly with that of Welbeck. His speed and directness will give the likes of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey the kind of outlet they have desperately lacked.

At Manchester United, Welbeck was the player who created space for his attacking teammates. His ability to take the game 40 yards up the pitch in a matter of seconds was an invaluable trait for a team looking to hit hard on the break.

But Welbeck won’t just be required to facilitate attacks at Arsenal, he'll need to finish them as well. If he can add goals to his otherwise impressive game, he will become the epitome of the modern centre forward.

While it was widely agreed that the £16 million signing of Welbeck represented shrewd business for Arsenal, there was doubt over the player’s true worth as a goalscoring centre-forward. That doubt has been somewhat quelled by what we saw against Switzerland.