Arsenal youngster Kris Da Graca is looking to force his way into the first team, and claims training with Danny Welbeck has really helped him improve as a defender, as reported by Arsenal.com.
Arsene Wenger is known for giving youth a chance, and recently we’ve seen Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi breaking into the starting XI. This will obviously give Da Graca a real boost of confidence, making him really believe he’s able to follow in their footsteps.
The youngster has recently been training with the first team, which obviously shows Wenger has plenty of faith in him. There may well be a few names ahead of him in the pecking order, but we could soon see him handed a chance in the senior side.
“I have grown in confidence which has improved my overall game, both technically and tactically,” Da Graca said.
“Playing regularly with the under-21s has been a big help because the level is that much higher and coming up against more experienced strikers has helped my development.
“I have also trained four times with the first team and have invariably marked Danny Welbeck who is a difficult player to defend against. He is powerful, quick and technically good. I really enjoyed the experience and learnt so much and I saw the improvement from the first training session to the last one.
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“The sessions with the first team really accelerate your development because the tempo and accuracy of everything they do is at a higher level.”
Danny Welbeck hasn’t already been every Arsenal fan’s favourite player, and there was a lot of negative feeling when Wenger signed the former Manchester United man on deadline day. He’s been excellent since his return from injury though, and the players seem to have a huge amount of respect for him.
Physically he’s got all the qualities required to be a real success, with his pace and power making him really stand out. His technical abilities leave a little to be desired, but hopefully there’s still time for him to improve.
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If he can help the young Gunners improve too that would be a massive boost, and hopefully we see more players following in the footsteps of players like Bellerin and Iwobi.
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