Danny Welbeck succumbs to yet another injury

Danny Welbeck was forced out of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw at Chelsea on Sunday with a groin injury. The extent of the damage has now been revealed.

Danny Welbeck has enjoyed a rare run of consistent starts for Arsenal at the beginning of the 2017-18 season. The Englishman has played all five of the Gunners’ league matches so far this year, scoring three goals and adding an assist.

But he was forced out of Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea after picking up what appeared to be a groin injury in the 73rd minute. Arsenal played well enough in his absence, but the injury left a cloud over an otherwise impressive performance.

The club have now confirmed Welbeck will miss at least three weeks, per Sky Sports.

The injury is the latest in a long line of setbacks that have derailed Welbeck’s career, first at Manchester United and now at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger is clearly a fan of the forward, and has almost always found a place for him in the starting XI when he’s been fit.

But since joining the north London club in 2014-15, the 26-year-old has appeared in over 20 league games only once. The good news is this latest layoff is expected to be brief, at least by Welbeck’s recent standards, but the questions about his long-term reliability will only intensify.

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Wenger has plenty of options in Welbeck’s absence. Alexis Sanchez started the Chelsea match on the bench, Mesut Ozil was out injured, Alex Iwobi preformed well on the right of Alexandre Lacazette in Arsenal’s front three, while Olivier Giroud, who replaced Welbeck on Sunday, provides a more physical option if Wenger wants to play Lacazette with a more traditional partner.

Still, the energy and intensity Welbeck provides, coupled with his pace in behind, is a useful combination in the Gunners’ array of attacking midfielders, as evidenced by his productive start to the season.