After what will have been a fairytale return for the striker, Danny Welbeck admitted that his recover has been far from plain sailing.

The former Manchester United man was sidelined for 10 months with what was initially thought to be a minor knee injury. On Sunday, after a surgery and lengthy rehabilitation period, the 25-year-old could finally set foot on the pitch again and boy did he make a return.

“It’s been a long time off the pitch, the longest period of time that I’ve spent off playing matches in my career,” the striker said to Arsenal player.

“It’s difficult, and with a few headlosses along the way.”

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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the winning goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium February 14, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

The secret, Danny believes, is staying positive, otherwise there’s no telling what could happen.

“I think you’ve just got to try to stay positive,” Welbz explained.

“I had a lot of great help behind the scenes with the medical staff and with James Haycock, who worked with me personally and was great. I think hard work eventually pays off.

Talking us through the goal itself, he said, “It was a wonderful feeling to get that winning goal at the end. It was just very important for us to get the three points.

“With the type of game it was, it was close right until the end and thankfully we got the goal.

“As soon as I saw Mesut line it up, I just tried to get myself into a nice position, in behind the line of defence. Thankfully it came in my direction and I got the right glance on it.

“I don’t even know what I was doing [afterwards], the facials were going crazy! I’ve seen a couple [of pictures] and it was just euphoria after and I jumped in the crowd.”

I’ve got huge respect for the lad. Unless you’ve been a professional athlete, which I admittedly haven’t, you’ll never truly understand how it feels to be told you can’t do your job – something that you love with every fibre of your being – for the foreseeable future. The fact that he came back and made such a huge impact within minutes shows exactly why Arsene Wenger signed him in the first place.