Danny Welbeck has said he is determined to make-up for lost time after series of injuries during his Arsenal career.

• Welbeck has been unfortunate with injuries during his time with Arsenal
• He returned to fitness towards the end of last season
• He isn’t fazed by the increased competition in the squad

There was hope that Welbeck’s move to Arsenal in 2014 would be the catalyst for him to kick-on as a striker.

Unfortunately, a couple of serious knee injuries have held back his progression at Arsenal, as well as ruling him out of the 2016 European Championships.

Welbeck returned to fitness in time to start the FA Cup final last season, and is now looking forward to putting his injury troubles behind him.

“It’s been frustrating, I’ve spoken about it in the past and it’s not nice,” he said.

“Obviously you’ve got to deal with the injuries but that’s behind me now and I’ve got to kick on. I’ve got to build a base for pre-season and hopefully stay injury-free for the season.

“I haven’t had the best of luck with injuries, it’s hindered my progression and where I want to be but hopefully I can stay injury-free and really show what I can do.

“It’s been a couple of years, it’s obviously nice to be fit for pre-season. I’m fit, not match fit, but going into it injury-free is good for me. Build a base, I can build on that for the rest of the season.

“I got fit last season but you also have to take your time with it and build up steadily through the levels and to be back out here in a pre-season, my first pre-season for three years.”

Welbeck will have a difficult time getting regular first team football at Arsenal next season after the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette.

He is, however, not fazed by the extra competition and believe it’s part and parcel of being a top level player.

“I think from when I was a little boy playing in the academy, you’ve always got competition wherever you may be and it’s something you learn to deal with and you just want to keep on improving. It makes you hungrier.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting season. There’s a lot of strong teams, a lot of teams making great additions to their squads. It’s one that will be an exciting season, one that we’re ready for and one we’re looking forward to.”