Liam Brady has taken to hailing the arrival of Danny Welbeck as potentially the second coming of Thierry Henry, a bold statement to make in north London, to say the least.
Speaking to BT Sport (h/t Metro), the ex-Gunner praised Arsene Wenger's work in bringing the Manchester United forward to the Emirates Stadium, saying:
I’m delighted he’s signed for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s track record with young players is strong. Look at Henry – when he came to Arsenal he was rough around the edges and was playing on the wing, likeWelbeck. It took Henry time but Wenger polished him into a fine finisher and he can do the same with Welbeck.
The likening is understandable to the extent that both players came to Arsenal with the voids there to be filled up front, as well as being of a similar age.
Welbeck turns 24 in November, and while it's certainly outlandish to claim a player can't be taught new tricks past such a stage, it's safer to say United's way of thinking is somewhat engrained in his play as things stand.
Henry was just 21 upon arrival, and the philosophies taught to him during his development at Monaco—some of which coincided with Wenger's management of the club—will have been closer to what is taught at Arsenal now.
As Brady stated, Welbeck will require time to adapt to this change, The Times' Oliver Kay agreed that his circumstances and Henry's fall some way apart:
Not saying Welbeck is the new Thierry Henry. He really isn't. But he has raw materials, should improve at Arsenal if played through middle
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes) September 1, 2014
Brady also considered the fact that both attackers played on the wing prior to their Arsenal arrivals is a reason to draw comparison, when in actual fact it may be a cause for further differentiation between the two.
In Henry's case, the former Monaco and Juventus forward started out on the flanks, a fast and closely controlled dribbling asset whose eye for goal grew as his career moved on.
For Welbeck, it's been a tale to the contrary. He's always sought his place up front, the position he thrived in as a United youngster, but competition at Old Trafford meant he was forced out wide, his goal tally declining as a result.
Henry's talent with a ball at his feet meant that his killer touch in front of goal was all that needed sprinkling on top of his game to make for a near-perfect blend, whereas Welbeck's lack in certain physical traits is an inhibitor.
Now, that isn't to say Welbeck won't turn out to be a fine scoring resource under Wenger; with Olivier Giroud out of the picture until new year, his place as the spearhead of attack could lead to prolific form.
After all, in the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott, he has behind him an incredible array of creative stars who promise to lay on mounds of opportunities. Henry didn't always have that army of ammunition.
WhoScored.com (h/t ESPN FC) detailed Welbeck's attacking figures coming into the Gunners' setup:
Danny Welbeck can prove himself the finished article at @Arsenal, say the @WhoScored stats. http://t.co/MqQwFMfTMo pic.twitter.com/OJsiHUMph9
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 11, 2014
For the England international, his work will be much more focused upon providing the finished article, rounding off the work of others as opposed to creating that work, which accounted for a lot of what Henry was so great at.
In his own right, Welbeck has shown an ability to track back, run from deep and engineer chances on the counter, but he isn't—and many would claim never will be—of the Henry standard in this regard.
Those in north London would undoubtedly welcome another influence as significant as that of Henry's stature, but the sheer physical evidence suggests Welbeck won't be that.
Still, at just 23 years of age, the most essential portions of his career are still to come, enough time to prove many a critic wrong and fulfil the potential so long placed upon his name.
Source: Bleacher Report
No comments:
Post a Comment