Premier League: Why Welbeck is a certain Arsenal hit

Danny Welbeck is one of four Arsenal men in the England squad

Michael Lintorn expects Danny Welbeck to prove his many critics wrong following his Arsenal switch...

Before Danny Welbeck's 16 million move from Man United to Arsenal had even been confirmed, fans of his new club had created an acronym for their new attacker pool: SWAG - Yaya Sanogo, Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud.

After nervousness about whether they had enough firepower to remain competitive until Giroud's return from injury in the New Year, they suddenly have a wealth of versatile options, particularly with Lukas Podolski staying and Theo Walcott due back soon.

There has been a mixed response to Welbeck's arrival, with some labelling it a panic buy due to how late in the window the deal was completed, the belief that they have been overcharged and his struggle for game-time at Man United, who are below Arsenal in the Premier League.

However, whenever Welbeck has been given a run in a team, he has delivered. There were 12 goals in 27 starts in his breakout Man United campaign in 2011/12, followed by five goals across seven England starts when picked regularly between June and November 2012.

It was only when Robin van Persie was brought in over him in 2012 and he found himself benched or out wide more often that his goal-per-game stats declined and a reputation as an unreliable scorer emerged, and likewise when Daniel Sturridge usurped him for England.

Contradicting that perception, the 23-year-old struck nine times in 15 Premier League starts even when in and out of an underperforming side last season.

There is a definite parallel to be drawn with former England U21 colleague Sturridge leaving a club demanding ready-made stars (Chelsea) to join one eager to establish their own (Liverpool) for a similar fee in January 2013.

Studger's Chelsea record was unremarkable (13 efforts in 63 league appearances), yet there was evidence of him thriving when shown trust (eight goals in 11 starts on loan at Bolton, ten goals before Christmas under Andre Villas-Boas in 2011/12) which encouraged the Reds to invest heavily.

In theory, Welbeck is a safer bet for Arsenal now than Sturridge was for Liverpool then because he has proven his goalscoring ability at international level, which the former Man City youngster hadn't.

Welbeck is a 15.014/1 contender to be one of the Premier League's top four scorers in his first season at the Emirates, while his new employers are 1.584/7 to earn a 19th successive top-four finish.