This season has been another one of frustration and a feeling of lost opportunities for Arsenal.

The Gunners have played scintillating football at times throughout 2015/16 and there is no doubt that on their day they are one of the most breath-taking attacking teams in Europe.

However, the age-old issues that have blighted the north London club in recent years have once again been apparent over the last eight months.

The lack of a midfield leader, a perceived shortage of collective brawn, inconsistency and a rearguard that can be susceptible have all been showcased at various parts of the campaign.

However, one issue that Arsenal fans continue to stress also looks to have hurt the club’s chance of winning silverware.

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The Emirates Stadium faithful have long implored manager Arsene Wenger to splash out on a new top-class striker that can guarantee the club 20 to 25 goals per campaign. The thrifty Frenchman has opted to repeatedly ignore the calls of the fans and continues to place faith in the current options at his disposal. Olivier Giroud splits fans’ opinions, but just whether the former Montpellier man is the centre forward to fire the club to success remains to be seen. Theo Walcott has also been utilised in his preferred central role and has chipped in with goals when given the chance. The problem, however, has been that Giroud lacks Walcott’s speed, while the Englishman is devoid of a physical or aerial presence of his French team-mate.

As such, if Arsenal had Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Aguero or Harry Kane up front this season, chances are they would be much closer to the Premier League summit.

But, what if they had Danny Welbeck up front all season? The former Manchester United attacker became something of a forgotten man after sitting a large proportion of the campaign out through injury. When he was available following a move down from Old Trafford, Welbeck had also been deployed in wide roles and struggled to be the club’s first-choice number nine.

That said, since becoming available again the England international has been in inspired form and has looked like the most dangerous of Wenger’s three striking choices. The star has taken his chances and scored goals when given the opportunity, offered a threat in-behind opposition rearguards and his link-up play looks to have markedly improved. He possesses the mobility that Giroud does not while he is a more-rounded option that Walcott. Add to this Welbeck’s excellent international scoring record for England and there is a case to suggest that the attacker could well be the player that the Arsenal fans have craved in recent years.

As such, despite the Gunners faithful being happy to have Welbeck fit and firing, his presence may well accentuate the ongoing process of Wenger not splashing out on a striker and hoping that one of the existing squad members can be that 20-25 goal man that the club craves.

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