Danny Welbeck Shows Why Arsene Wenger Should Have Picked Him Against Norwich

Several groups of Arsenal fans chose Saturday's match against Norwich City to protest at the way the club is being run. Although the board and majority shareholder Stan Kroenke were among the targets, much of the frustration was aimed at incumbent manager Arsene Wenger.

In truth, the brief demonstration was the only incident other than Danny Welbeck’s goal to get the fans off their feet. If there was any hope the unrest might prompt an improved performance from the Gunners, that was sadly misplaced. 

In reality, the protest was about every bit as feeble as Arsenal's performance. Some fans responded to the raised placards calling for change with a chant of “one Arsene Wenger." Admirable though the loyalty of those fans was, this was not a great day for Wenger’s supporters. The Arsenal manager showed once again he is struggling to get the best from his team, and his decision to start with Olivier Giroud rather than Welbeck was utterly baffling.

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Giroud has failed to score in 20 of his last 21 Arsenal appearances. Wenger’s continued faith in him is bizarre, especially given how impressive Welbeck has been since returning from injury in February.

When Welbeck was brought on for the popular 19-year-old Alex Iwobi early in the second half, boos rang around the Emirates Stadium. Wenger’s defenders will point to Giroud’s subsequent nod-down for Welbeck’s winner. His detractors will say if the Englishman had started the game, the Gunners might well have had the game won before then. Giroud contributed so little over the course of the 90 minutes—he looks like a player bereft of confidence.

After Welbeck’s strike hit the net, Giroud cupped his ear to the Arsenal fans as if to challenge their disapproval. He might be better advised to wait until his own goalscoring record has improved before doing that.

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After the match, the England striker told the media that despite still suffering some fitness issues, he would like to be starting matches regularly:

"

It is down to the manager, but I want to play every single game as players do. Being out for such a long time and coming back, you have to get back into match fitness. As you can tell, I’m blowing and I only played 30 minutes. It was nice, and I want to keep on playing games and building up my fitness.

"

Welbeck was perfectly capable of starting the matches against Barcelona, Everton, Watford and Crystal Palace. Perhaps Giroud was reintroduced to help add some aerial presence to the side, but a striker’s primary function in the team should be to improve the attack, not reinforce the defence.

In their next game, Arsenal travel to Manchester City for a match that could have significant implications. The match has effectively become a play-off for third position and automatic UEFA Champions League qualification. In a game of that magnitude, Wenger must pick his best XI. The Arsenal fans will hope he’s realised Welbeck, rather than Giroud, deserves to be a part of that.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.