Chelsea legend Frank Lampard believes Danny Welbeck should be more ruthless in front of goal if he is to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal line-up. The England international has managed just 80 appearances in over three seasons at the club, owing to a couple of long-term knee injuries.

Writing in his column in the Evening Standard, Lampard feels Welbeck must improve on his goalscoring record for the Gunners in order to establish himself as a centre-forward, he said: “He has still scored 13 Premier League goals for Arsenal, which isn’t bad considering he has never had a regular run in the side. I like Danny as a player a lot. He has great strength and speed, with an ability to run in behind defences.

But I look at his attributes and he should be a regular goalscorer when fit. “You wonder if Welbeck is ruthless enough in front of goal to do that. I played with some strikers that people called selfish and greedy but they have generally been the best because they always scored. It’s a trait you need as a striker if you’re going to find the net regularly. Maybe he doesn’t have that.”

Welbeck tweaked his groin during the 0-0 draw versus Chelsea back in September, and he repeated the feat versus Watford just a month later, which he succumbed to a similar injury. The Englishman has, however, regained his fitness following a couple of minor niggles, and he will now hope to earn regular game time during the festive period.

The Englishman netted three Premier League goals in the first three matches, and he will hope to revive his early promise in order to enhance his chances of making next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia. Welbeck participated in qualifiers versus Malta and Slovakia earlier this term, and he stands an opportunity of making the global tournament, provided he goes unscathed.