Arsene Wenger played down comparisons between Danny Welbeck and Thierry Henry after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
The England international completed a £16m move from Manchester United on deadline day and opened his account in the Gunners’ convincing away win.
During his Old Trafford career, Welbeck was mostly used out wide, but has converted to a central role at Arsenal, leading to comparisons with Henry, who made a similar positional switch after joining from Juventus in 1999.
Wenger admits his new signing has plenty of work to do if he is going to emulate the Gunners legend, but has been encouraged by the 23-year-old’s early performances
"Look, give me some time, it is a bit early to say that when you look at the number of goals Thierry Henry scored," said Wenger.
"I think Danny has an interesting potential and let's see how he develops. He has a good mentality, good physical potential, technical potential and he contributes to our team play because he doesn't lose the ball and those are important qualities. Thierry is a good act to follow and I have nothing against it."
Welbeck endured barren spells at United, but has rediscovered his goal scoring touch in training sessions with his new teammates.
"He has played wide at Manchester United, never through the middle," said Wenger.
"You lose a little bit of that instinct to score and also that pressure, which is a bit animalistic.
"You need to be in the middle and wait for your chance to kill the opponent. On the flank you have less of that responsibility.
"It's not a question of potential, it is more a nervous problem because in training he scores goals like a real striker.
"He rushed his finishing until now because he didn't score."
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