England forward Danny Welbeck is set for a 'great future ' at Arsenal , but manager Arsene Wenger warned all his players their first duty is to serve the club - whether that is on the pitch or on the bench . Welbeck joined the Gunners on transfer deadline day from Manchester United , where he had become frustrated at a lack of opportunities in his preferred central striker role . Since the return to fitness and form of Olivier Giroud , who spent four months out with a broken leg , the 24-year-old has found himself deployed on the flank of a front three along with Alexis Sanchez , rather than down the middle . Danny Welbeck joined Arsenal from Manchester United last summer after growing frustrated at bit-part role . The striker was left on the bench for Wednesday 's Premier League match against QPR . Welbeck was a late substitute for both of the previous two Barclays Premier League matches , but could face his former club in Monday night 's FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford . Wenger is convinced Welbeck , who has seven Arsenal goals , can play a big part in the future of the team , but like everyone else has to earn their place in the starting XI . 'Danny Welbeck puts big team effort in , he plays very well for me and is an exceptional player who will have a great future here , ' said Wenger , who confirmed centre-back Gabriel Paulista was set for 'two to three weeks ' out with a hamstring injury suffered in the midweek Barclays Premier League win over QPR at Loftus Road . 'The subject is raised because he is a former Man United player , ( but ) I am very , very happy that I bought him . ' Wenger continued : 'Welbeck is very important and has played many , many games since the start of the season . The England international was also absent from the starting line-up against Everton last Sunday . Arsene Wenger says Welbeck has a bright future at Arsenal but faces a lot of competition . 'His position is one of the three up front , central , left or right . He can play anywhere . ' England forward Theo Walcott is another who has watched on from the bench in recent weeks , as Wenger finally enjoys the luxury of strength in depth . The Arsenal boss added : 'We have a lot of competition going on in the team , especially up front - we have plenty of offensive potential . It makes every decision more difficult . 'People always raise these kind of questions when ( either ) you do not have enough players , or when you do have enough players . ' ( However ) , we have chosen a job where competition is part of our job . That means we ca n't complain about that , because we have made that choice . 'Our job is to serve the club and to compete with other people to do as well as we can to serve the club . The 24-year-old could return to the side for Monday night 's FA Cup clash against former side United . Wenger confirmed he will be without defender Gabriel for up to three weeks due to a hamstring injury . 'The only important thing is what the club achieves - all of us are only here for that . ' Arsenal have a poor record at Old Trafford , not winning since September 2006 and suffering an 8-2 thumping there in August 2011 . Wenger , though , sees no reason why the Gunners , who are ahead of United in the Premier League table , should not be able to produce the required performance this time around . ' I do n't believe too much in history , I just believe in the performance on the day , ' he said . 'At the moment we are doing very well away from home . The size of the pitch is exactly the same everywhere , it is just down to how much we turn up and how much effort we put in to win the game . 'Both teams will think if we get over this hurdle , we have a good opportunity to win the competition . Wenger was forced to defend Mesut Ozil after criticism from former United midfielder Paul Scholes . 'We are confident from our Premier League run , so we go to Manchester United to qualify and to give absolutely everything . ' Wenger , meanwhile , rejected criticism of Mesut Ozil by former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes , who claimed the German playmaker was only 'going through the motions ' at Arsenal . ' I think a player like Paul Scholes would have loved to play with Mesut Ozil , ' Wenger said . 'We are all in a job where in every single game we have to prove a point . ' I believe Ozil has the quality , he puts a lot of effort in to help the team and he works much harder than his style shows . 'You can be cheated a little bit by his style of play , because he is fluent , easy , subtle and he does not look like he puts the effort in , but he does . '
Danny Welbeck joined Arsenal from Manchester United last summer . Striker has had to make do with substitute appearances in recent games . Former England striker Alan Shearer believes the club should have sold him for a bigger fee when he was at Old Trafford.