Arsene Wenger has admitted that the performance of one of his attacking players was certainly not what he was expecting ahead of Saturday’s clash with Southampton.

Danny Welbeck helped Arsenal ease towards a convincing victory against the Saints courtesy of two well-taken goals in the first half.

The double from the England international was largely impressive considering the fact that he was only making his first start for Arsenal since May 2016.

According to Arsene Wenger, he did not expect Welbeck’s goal-scoring touch to be so good only a few weeks after making his return from a long injury lay-off.

“Danny Welbeck was very sharp because he has been working very hard,” Wenger said after the 5-0 victory.

“He comes back from a long way out and has gone through some very difficult moments mentally.

“But his resilience was absolutely marvelous and he was rewarded tonight, so we are happy.

“Welbeck has been out for such a long time, I didn’t expect him to score straight away and it shows the desire is there.”

The 26-year-old’s prolific display on Saturday means he could be in contention for a start ahead of Olivier Giroud when Arsenal welcome Watford to the Emirates stadium on Tuesday night.

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