Danny Welbeck has scored five goals in 12 appearances for the Gunners.
Danny Welbeck says that joining Arsenal from Manchester United was the right move for him to take in his career as the England striker prepares to face him former side this weekend.
Welbeck will face his boyhood club for the first time on Saturday when the Gunners host United, with the two teams just a point apart in the Premier League table.
Arsenal
Manchester United
5:30 PM GMT
The 23-year-old scored twice in England’s 2-1 win over Slovenia last Saturday after starting as a centre-forward, and he says it was that desire to lead the attacking line on a regular basis which led to his departure from Old Trafford.
“When you’ve been somewhere for so long and then you’re going to start a new chapter in your career, you’ve got to think about it a lot,” Welbeck said in the Manchester Evening News. “Over the past year or so, I started to think about what’s best for me.
“At the time I was playing on the left wing a lot and in a 4-4-2, which is very difficult for me because I can’t make an impact on the game. I can play it to the best of my ability but that’s not best for the team, and I could make a bigger impact playing in my preferred position.
“You start to have thoughts but at that time you’re still going to training and I was still giving 100 percent and giving my all in every single game — that’s just me, I’m not going to change that. But you do start to think about what’s best for you.”
Welbeck’s move has been somewhat justified — he has netted five goals in 12 appearances for the Gunners since joining them in the summer, and another five goals in six for his national team as well. He does admit, however, that it’s taken a while to adjust to life living in the capital.
“It’s a bit different in London, because obviously I was born and bred in Manchester so that’s a place I know like the back of my hand. I went to school there and you really get to know the city. Manchester is much smaller so you do know a lot of people in the vicinity,” he added.
“Growing up there, we played lots of different schools and you’d see people you knew in town all the time.
“I used to get two buses to school and you’d see more or less everyone in the city centre, so I kind of knew everyone around my age group.
“There were a lot of people in Manchester that I was connected to so it is a bit different coming to London and not knowing as many people.
“But it’s going well. Arsenal is the place for me to advance my career and take me to the next level.”