Danny Welbeck ‘envisaged’ playing for Arsenal while at Manchester United

The new Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck claims he envisaged himself playing in Arsène Wenger’s side long before he signed on deadline day.

Welbeck: 'I couldn’t be any happier to be playing for Arsenal'

The 23-year-old was with Manchester United’s academy from the age of eight, having been born in the city, but that did not stop him considering what it would be like to play the Arsenal way.

Welbeck completed a £16m move to the Gunners late on Monday after United’s acquisition of Radamel Falcao pushed him further down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

“It’s exciting times for me. It’s great to be a part of this club and it’s a team that I’ve always watched in the Premier League,” he told Arsenal TV.

“I’ve envisaged myself playing in this team before. For it to finally happen is very exciting. I’ve been at United ever since I was a little boy and I had a great time there.

“I just think this is the next stage of my development – to come to Arsenal, to really show people what I can do as a footballer and hopefully get to the place where I want to be.

“Things move on in life and I think you’ve really got to make the right decision in the situation that you’re in at that moment in time. I really do believe that coming to Arsenal is the right decision.

“They’ve done well in recent years and last year we got the FA Cup and I feel like it’s time where we could really push on and try to challenge for the Premier League title. I’ve got one medal and it’s something that I really want to add to.”

Welbeck scored 29 goals in 142 appearances for United and believes he will get plenty of chances to improve his record playing for Arsenal.

“I believe the style of play the manager’s got and the boys play – and with the magnificent players in midfield slotting balls through, I can run on to the end of those balls and slot them away,” he said.

“I’d like to bring pace and power to the game. At Arsenal, we’re not short of combination football and I like to join in on that and get in behind defenders and try to get shots off at goal.

“I want to score some goals and help the team to achieve the right results.”

Deadline day turned into a fraught one for the England international with no one quite sure whether the move would go through and Arsenal did not announce the deal had been completed until two hours after the deadline had passed.

“It went right down to the wire in the end,” said Welbeck.

“It’s difficult to say how I felt at the (different) times of each day because the deal was on and then it was off but at the end of the day I’m an Arsenal player and I couldn’t be any happier at the moment.”