Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to give Danny Welbeck a new contract to reward his usefulness but is he really of much use to the squad?

“I like him because he can play left, right or up front, and for his quality,” said Wenger.

I want to love Danny Welbeck in the same way I wanted to love Nicolas Bendtner when he was 17 (or whatever age he was when he turned up in the Arsenal first team).
Here was a player who not only signed for Arsenal from Manchester United without being Mikael Silvestre, but one who was quite happy to celebrate like a lunatic when he scored against them to knock United out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.
Sadly, the football gods, long ago purchased by Manchester Council for the good of both blue and red in the city, deemed that was to be the absolute peak of his Arsenal career.
Welbeck’s Arsenal contract is up in 2019 and Arsene Wenger wants to renew it. But what is the point? Is there really nobody better out there who could take his place? No exciting youngster busting to get a chance?
Welbz’s fans will say he’s 27, just about to head into his peak and that’s worth keeping him around for, but how is his peak likely to be any better than Theo Walcott’s?
Look, don’t get me wrong Danny is a trier, a real team player who will give his all, but is that all we want? Or is a new contract for a player who has scored 22 goals in 95, with just 13 in the league – just three more than Theo ‘unlucky’ Walcott scored in the same competition last season – a waste?
Whether we give him a new deal or not is neither here nor there in the overall state of Arsenal but it seems to me that there is a certain profile of player you should want at your club if you aim to be a top side.
Players like Danny Welbeck, unfortunately, do not fit it.