Arsène Wenger was pleased to see Danny Welbeck back in the goals against West Ham, as the Englishman played his first 90 minutes since August.

Welbeck scored the winner in Arsenal’s League Cup quarter-final on Tuesday, and Wenger told reporters he was happy with what he saw. “He scored and that will be good for him. He lasted 90 minutes and that’s a positive,” he said.

The 27-year-old has struggled with injuries so far this campaign, missing almost all of the action from mid-September until mid-November.

Even on his return, Wenger treated the striker cautiously, not giving him more than half an hour in the league, and substituting him early in the Europa League.

All the disruptions meant the former Manchester United man hadn’t scored since the start of September, and last completed 90 minutes in the defeat to Liverpool three games into the season.

Doing both on Tuesday was definitely a positive, even if the Arsenal manager didn’t really have any choice but to keep him on, given Francis Coquelin and Olivier Giroud’s injuries.

That injury to Giroud puts more responsibility on Welbeck’s shoulders to keep scoring. If the 31-year-old’s hamstring injury keeps him out for three weeks, as most do, then Arsenal will have to play the third round of the FA Cup and the first-leg of the League Cup semi-final without him.

It’s up to the England international to make sure the Gunners don’t miss his French teammate.