After signing England international Danny Welbeck for $26.5 million on transfer Deadline Day, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has spoken about the transaction in a slightly confusing manner.
[RELATED: Welbeck best deal on Deadline]
In contrast to the overwhelming positive vibe as to Welbeck’s acquisition, Wenger seemed slightly downbeat in his weekly press conference about the arrival of the former Manchester United forward.
Wenger was not in the country on Deadline Day, instead he was at a charity game in Rome, so the deal to bring Welbeck to the Emirates was done by others at the club and Wenger simply stated “If I’d stayed at home he wouldn’t be here now,” before not elaborating on that comment and moving on.
Hmm. Very strange.
Then, when asked if he would have preferred an initial loan deal for Welbeck, this is how the Arsenal boss responded. “With an option to buy, yes,” Wenger said. “In the end when it was a permanent transfer, I was happy to buy.”
Wenger then spoke about why Arsenal bought Welbeck and how he can fit into their team, in a much more positive fashion, as Arsenal gear up to welcome reigning champions Manchester City to North London on Saturday.“We have lost an important striker in Olivier Giroud. We are short on numbers up front and Danny Welbeck is an ideal signing for us because he can play through the middle, which I think is his best position, but also on the flanks. He brings his qualities, his team attitude. What is very important for us is his pace and as you could see with England, his goalscoring.
“When they [Manchester United] got Falcao I heard that he could be available. At the start I didn’t know, it was quick because it was on the last day of the transfer window but I had no hesitation to do it.”
In the last few years Wenger has become much more open with the media in his weekly press conferences, but here he may have revealed too much. What does it say to new signing Welbeck that he may not have be at Arsenal had Wenger been around on Deadline Day to call the shots on the deal? Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it. With Welbeck scoring twice in England’s 2-0 win away in Switzerland on Monday to further amp up his fans, many are looking forward to seeing his first outing in an Arsenal jersey this weekend. Is Wenger?
We shall see if these cryptic words are a tactic from Wenger to fire Welbeck up or, quite simply, the Frenchman may not have explained his thoughts coherently. Either way, this is a strange one.