Arsenal’s hopes of feeding off Man United carcass dashed
Published:If things don’t go their way on Sunday, Manchester United could well have no European football to play next season whatsoever.
Should United fail to beat Southampton, at 13/8, then the unthinkable will become a reality for the Old Trafford side regardless of what Tottenham achieve against Aston Villa at home.
No doubt for the rest of the Premier League’s big guns the ideal scenario would be for the Red Devils to fail in their pursuit of Europa League football, in the hope that some of their stars could be lured away in the summer.
Arsenal are certainly one club who would have had such plans in place, with Danny Welbeck thought to be high up on their list of transfer window targets.
However, all hopes of signing the England international seem to have been scuppered with the news from interim boss Ryan Giggs that the striker is unequivocally not for sale and will even be offered a new contract at the club.
Welbeck has scored 13 goals in 40 games for club and country this season but his ability to play either on the wing or through the middle seems to make him an attractive proposition for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney in the same squad, regular spells on the sidelines are another factor in the thinking that Welbeck could be prised away from Old Trafford.
However, Giggs has dashed all hopes of the vultures that could be setting flight for Manchester with a stern rebuff of rumours linking the forward to Arsenal.
“We won’t be selling him,” he told Sky Sports News. “We showed the other night that bringing young players through is an important part of the club’s culture and history.
“We wouldn’t like to lose someone like Danny because he has done that, he has been here since eight or nine. So we want to keep him.”
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