Danny Welbeck Opens Up On His Manchester United's Exit And Move to Arsenal

Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck says there were some tense moments around the England national camp prior to his deadline day move from Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium.

The English international forward was with Roy Hodgson's squad preparing for the friendly against Norway when rumours about his possible move to North London began to circulate.

Welbeck says he was with Liverpool star Jordan Henderson when United manager Louis van Gaal agreed to part with him.

"The chance to sign for Arsenal came up but I was quite calm about it [on transfer deadline day]. I was with the England team and sat in my hotel room at The Grove with Jordan Henderson just chilling, just doing what I'd normally do and waiting for a phone call to see what was going to happen," he said to Arsenal official website.

"But every time we went to breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jack [Wilshere] was on my case, asking 'has it happened yet?' There was dialogue between Arsenal and Manchester United obviously but at that time you don't know [if the deal will go through]. At the end of the night it was good that everything was all clear in terms of what I was doing."

Even though everything happened at the very last minute of the transfer window, Welbeck claimed he eventually had been thinking about the possibility to leave Old Trafford during the whole last season – as he didn't feel comfortable playing on the flank.

"When you've been somewhere for so long and then you're going to start a new chapter in your career, you've got to think about it a lot. Over the past year or so, I started to think about what's best for me because at the time I was playing on the left wing a lot and in a 4-4-2, which is very difficult for me because I can't make an impact on the game.

"I can play it to the best of my ability but that's not best for the team, and I could make a bigger impact playing in my preferred position (up front),

"You start to have thoughts but at that time you're still going to training and I was still giving 100 per cent and giving my all in every single game – that's just me, I'm not going to change that. But you do start to think about what's best for you," he said.