New Emirates Stadium crowd favourite Danny Welbeck’s sensational start to his Gunners career has earned him comparisons with Arsenal greats. Check out his record against the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robin Van Persie here.
After a dramatic deadline day transfer from Manchester United, Danny Welbeck has now played five matches for Arsenal, scoring four times.
His finishing in the 4-1 UEFA Champions League victory over Galatasaray prompted comparisons with Gunners legend Thierry Henry, but how does his start compare with great Arsenal strikers of the past?
We compared him to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie.
Danny Welbeck
Games taken to score first Arsenal goal: 3
Goals after 5 games: 4
Welbeck almost found the back of the net on his debut against Manchester City, but his lob over Joe Hart struck the base of the post and bounced clear. After a second difficult fixture away to Borussia Dortmund, the 23 year-old has performed brilliantly, scoring against Aston Villa before a hat-trick at Emirates Stadium against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League.
Dennis Bergkamp
Games taken to score first Arsenal goal: 7
Goals after 5 games: 0
Dennis Bergkamp took some time to get going in front of goal for Arsenal, opening his account with a brace against Southampton in his seventh game. The non-flying Dutchman finished his debut season for the Gunners with 16 goals, scoring 120 times for the north London side in total.
Thierry Henry
Games taken to score first Arsenal goal: 9
Goals after 5 games: 0
Thierry Henry was told by Arsene Wenger upon arriving at Highbury that he would be converted from winger to striker, but took some convincing. It was nine games before Henry found the back of the net, but he scored 26 goals for the Gunners that season, eventually becoming their top goalscorer of all time with 229 228 strikes.
Robin Van Persie
Games taken to score first Arsenal goal: 6
Goals after 5 games: 0
Like both Thierry Henry and Danny Welbeck, Robin Van Persie was regularly deployed on the wing in the early part of his career, but was honed by Arsene Wenger into a deadly striker. The Dutchman left for Manchester United in summer 2012 after scoring 132 goals in 277 appearances for the Gunners.
Marouane Chamakh
Games taken to score first Arsenal goal: 2
Goals after 5 games: 3
A final word of caution on Danny Welbeck. The most impressive start by a striker to his Arsenal career in recent memory came from Marouane Chamakh, who joined from Bordeaux in 2010. The Moroccan hit the ground running, but hit a brick wall soon afterwards (if you’ll forgive the mixed metaphors). Eleven goals in all competitions in his debut campaign were followed by one strike in his second term and two in his third. A free transfer suddenly looked poor value, and he departed for West Ham on loan, eventually signing for Crystal Palace.