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Football

17th Jun 2015

These stats suggest Danny Welbeck has somehow declined since moving to Arsenal

Michael Owen thinks otherwise

Robert Redmond

Michael Owen said yesterday that Manchester United were wrong to sell Danny Welbeck.

The BT commentator, and former Liverpool and United forward, said that the club’s attacking options are looking increasingly limited, and that Louis van Gaal made a poor move in letting Welbeck leave last summer.

“They have a huge void up front and after letting Danny Welbeck go,” Owen said. “You quickly realise they need to spend a whole lot more to compete and they have already spent a lot since Van Gaal arrived.”

However, these stats suggest that the complete opposite is true, and that United were justified in selling the player. Since moving to the Emirates last summer for £16 million, Welbeck has scored less than half the amount he managed the previous season for United, and his conversion rate has plummeted.

The England forward had two more assists in his first Premier League season with Arsenal, than his final campaign with United, and created more than double the amount of chances.

Welbeck has been mostly played out wide for Arsenal, but the stats still suggest that United were right to sell him, despite Owen’s views to the contrary.

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