Football
ESPN staff 8y

Danny Welbeck: Arsenal missed 'great opportunity' to win Premier League

Danny Welbeck said Arsenal missed a "great opportunity" to win the Premier League title after scoring in Saturday's 1-0 win over Norwich.

The victory moved Arsenal back into third place ahead of Manchester City's game at Southampton on Sunday, and while a top-four finish is looking more likely for the Gunners, Welbeck was left to rue a chance to finish atop the table.

"Everyone is very disappointed," Welbeck told Sky Sports. "It was a great opportunity for us to go for the title this season and it is difficult to handle the way it is ending. We know as a club that we should be doing better than this."

Arsenal can no longer catch leaders Leicester City, but Welbeck said his teammates will still try to catch London rivals Tottenham for second place.

"We want to finish above Spurs but they want to finish above us. We will see what happens," he said.

Welbeck also said Arsenal must respect the fans' right to express their opinion after a small minority of disgruntled fans held posters reading "Time For Change" and "Arsenal is stale, fresh approach needed" in the 12th minute of the match, signifying 12 years since the team last won the Premier League title.

The overall reaction to the protest, however, was mixed, as first a chorus of boos and then a resounding chant of "there's only one Arsene Wenger" rang around the ground.

But Welbeck said both sides have a right to be heard.

"As a player you have to focus on the match and not on the surroundings," Welbeck said. "Fans are so important to football clubs and you have to respect that everyone has an opinion."

Welbeck came off the bench to replace Alex Iwobi in the 56th minute and needed only three minutes to score the lone goal.

"When you are on the bench you want to come on and make an impact and I got the goal," he said. "It was a difficult game, they were fighting to the end but we had to get the three points."

The striker said he is still returning to full fitness following knee surgery in September and only returning to action in February.

"I just want to play every single game after being out for such a long time. I am building up my fitness," he said. "I prefer to play as a striker but I will do my best as long as I am on the pitch."

^ Back to Top ^