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Arsenals struggles in front of goal have been a glaring issue throughout the season. Could the returning Danny Welbeck be the man to freshen up their misfiring attack? We take a look ahead of his return to Old Trafford on Super Sunday... A familiar theme emerged from Arsene Wengers terse press conference at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. The Arsenal manager had just watched his sides Champions League hopes all but ended by Barcelona, and after lamenting their late defensive lapses, the questioning turned to their profligacy in front of goal.The way we finished our chances was a problem today, he said. In the final third, at the moment, we miss something. The Frenchman highlighted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains failure to convert an unbelievable chance in the first half, but Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud were also guilty of spurning clear opportunities before Lionel Messi took over. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott have struggled in front of goal in recent weeks After recent blanks against Hull, Southampton, Chelsea and Stoke, Arsenal have now failed to score in five games out of eight for the first time since early 2009. It is a deeply troubling statistic, but even more worrying for Arsenal is that the lack of cutting edge has been an issue right from the start of the season. Gunners conundrum With Arsenal facing another Champions League exit , what must they change? The Gunners have been comfortably outscored by Premier League title rivals Leicester, Tottenham and Manchester City, and they have only netted fewer than 41 goals after 26 games in three of Wengers 20 campaigns in charge. Arsenal rank third in the Premier League for efforts on goal and chances created, but their shot conversion rate of 14.09 per cent puts them down in 10th. Top four shot conversion comparison Team Shots on goal (PL rank) Goals (PL rank) Shot conversion (PL rank) Leicester 264 (7th) 48 (1st) 18.18% (1st) Tottenham 301 (2nd) 47 (2nd) 15.61% (4th) Arsenal 291 (3rd) 41 (4th) 14.09% (10th) Man City 309 (1st) 48 (1st) 15.53% (6th) A deeper look at the statistics throws up even more compelling evidence that finishing has become a chronic issue for Wengers men. Sixty-four of the 331 chances they have created are defined as clear-cut opportunities by Opta. Thats 20 more than any other Premier League side, and only two short of the highest number managed by any club over the whole of last season. What is a clear-cut chance? Opta define a clear-cut chance as a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, such as a one-on-one or a close-range effort. The problem, however, is that Arsenal have only managed to convert 26 of those 64 opportunities. So despite being streets ahead of their rivals in terms of creativity, the Gunners rank 19th in the Premier League for clear-cut chance conversion on just 32.5 per cent. Only relegation-threatened Swansea have been more wasteful. Top four clear-cut chance comparison Team Clear-cut chances created (PL rank) Clear-cut chance conversion (PL rank) Leicester 44 (2nd) 43.55% (5th) Tottenham 39 (4th) 48.15% (2nd) Arsenal 64 (1st) 32.50% (19th) Man City 40 (3rd) 37.29% (15th) Arsenal have consequently averaged just 1.58 goals per game in the Premier League this season, and they will finish the campaign on 60 goals if they continue scoring at the same rate. History suggests that wont be enough, with Manchester Uniteds total of 67 in 1992/93 the lowest for a title-winning side in Premier League history.Wenger has described finishing as cyclical, but the issue evidently runs deeper than that. And yet, when the Frenchman was questioned about signing a new striker in January, his response was to talk up the impending return of Danny Welbeck. His comments received a lukewarm reception, but the England forward has certainly provided some encouragement. Welbeck celebrates with Walcott and Giroud after scoring against Leicester Wenger talked about small steps when discussing Welbecks comeback at the end of last month, but the 25-year-old has been hurriedly making up for lost time. He marked his first appearance in 10 months with a dramatic winner against Leicester, and it wouldnt have been surprising to see him start against Barcelona after an eye-catching performance in Arsenals goalless draw with Hull.Welbeck was full of energy and intent before his 67th-minute substitution against Steve Bruces team, and there were flashes of his quality, too. He created two scoring opportunities for his team-mates and forced a stunning save from Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic with one curling effort, and 24 of his 25 passes found a team-mate.The Gunners are in dire need of fresh impetus in attack as their Premier League campaign gets back underway, and while the likes of Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott are suffering from a glaring lack of confidence in front of goal, Welbeck looks hungrier and sharper than ever. Welbeck takes the applause from the Arsenal crowd His Premier League scoring record may be a modest 31 goals in 144 appearances, but he showed a ruthless streak with six goals in seven games for England last season, and his pace and work-rate make him well-suited to playing anywhere in the front three. Soccer Saturday pundit Charlie Nicholas is a big admirer, and hes expecting a shake-up in the weeks ahead.Giroud is not playing well, the former Arsenal forward told Sky Sports. His choice of passing has been poor, hes too static, hes not getting in enough scoring positions and if hes not scoring goals then he shouldnt be starting. Welbecks movement and speed gives more options to Mesut Ozil. It was fantastic to see him come back and score the winner against Leicester after so long out. Welbeck shows his delight after scoring in Arsenals FA Cup win over Man Utd last season As Arsenal prepare for Sundays crucial clash with Manchester United, an injury to Oxlade-Chamberlain has raised the possibility of Welbeck making his first Premier League start since March at Old Trafford, where he scored Arsenals winner in last years FA Cup quarter-final.Wenger needs an injection of something different in attack to avoid their Premier League campaign heading the same way as the Champions League. A refreshed and reinvigorated Welbeck looks like the right man for the job.Watch Manchester United v Arsenal live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 1pm on Sunday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Arsenal video Arsenal fixtures Get a ￡10 free bet! Arsenal stats Mike Quick Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Wilbert Montgomery Eagles Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Ron-Jaworski-Inverted-Jersey/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Clayton Thorson Youth Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Wes Hopkins Womens Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii -- Theres never a good time to get hit by a car while riding your bike. But three days before the Ironman World Championship, when youre the defending champion, is a particularly bad time.Yet thats exactly what happened to Australian Mirinda Carfrae last year. The three-time world champion and course record holder was biking through the busy downtown in Kona when a car pulling into a parking lot hit her.There were people stopping and looking. The lady who hit me knew who I was. She was crying, and Im trying to hold it together, then Im crying, Carfrae, 35, said in an interview this week. So Carfrae just got out of there, kept riding, and it seemed like everything was going to be OK.She started the race anyway. Of course she did. She had spent her whole year preparing for it.She made it through the swim, but right away, she struggled to maintain any kind of power on the bike, with her hip, glute and shoulder still in pain from the accident. She found herself slowly slipping farther and farther behind. And not even halfway through, she stopped, quit and climbed into a sponsors car.It was probably a good month of just sadness, she said of the aftermath. But it comes along with all this, when you care so much about something and you put so much into it.And knowing that I had to wait a whole other year to get back here.It was devastating, said Carfraes coach, Siri Lindley, herself a world champion at the Olympic distance back in 2001.The two have worked together for nearly 11 years. That means they know each other very well. And what they eventually decided was that there were two upsides to Carfraes crash and DNF -- both of which they think will ultimately help her as she goes for another Ironman world title this Saturday.One upside to the accident was that Carfraes husband, Tim ODonnell, had a breakthrough that same day, taking third in the mens race and finishing as the first American. Carfrae was at the finish line to greet him, something she could not have done had she still been racing.I got to be there for him, and hes always there for me [at the finish], she said.The other upside is a little more abstract. Carfrae, whos been racing triathlons for 16 years, has been at the Ironman World Championship in Kona every year since 2009. Shes won three times and placed in the top three six times. Shes one of the most consistent racers in the famously brutal conditions. (A 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112 hot and humid miles on the bike, and then a marathon run through lava fields.)Its hard to keep the fire burning through all those years, so Lindley and Carfrae had talked about taking a year off from the world championship and using that time to build up a longer training block, without the stress of such a tough race on the body.Last year wasnt necessarily supposed to be that off year, but they got the break they were looking for anyway.Lets assume it happened for something greater ahead, Lindley said. Maybe this year was supposed to be the year to take off, but we just didnt get the message.Looking back now on last year, leading into the race I certainly didnt feel as excited as I had previously or I did this year, Carfrae said. Being forced to not finish the race might have been a blessing. She laughs. Well, well see what happens.And its not like Carfrae spent the last 364 days just brooding and crying. Sure, she spent some time doing that, but then she got on with things.First up, a few weeks after the race, was a team meeting.dddddddddddd Carfrae, Lindley, ODonnell and ODonnells coach, Mark Allen, met at the couples house in Boulder, Colorado, to hash out a plan for how both the triathletes could find a way to excel in the same sport and at the same race. In 2014, ODonnell had a terrible race and Carfrae won. The next year, Carfrae had the accident and felt worn out going into the event, but ODonnell had a great race.After five bottles of wine, the four of them had worked out all the details of how both athletes could succeed -- down to exactly where the two were going to stay in Hawaii and when they were going to get there. (They flew in separately this year so Carfrae could get to Kona a few days earlier.)Once that was settled, Carfrae got back to training and, most important, to having fun. I wanted to freshen things up, Lindley said. During the winter, Carfrae focused on short and fast training, and on different kinds of workouts. She and ODonnell went to the Bahamas for the unique Island House Triathlon, an event that pits Olympic racers against Ironman champions over multiple days.Then, in June, she raced Ironman Austria, where she won in a course record of 8:41.She wasnt sure [about Ironman Austria], because wed been doing so much differently, but I knew it was going to be great, Lindley said.This year has been more low-key than the ones following Carfraes 2013 and 2014 wins. Shes had fewer demands on her time and fewer sponsor and media obligations pulling her in every direction. In the triathlon community, shes largely taken a back seat to the woman who won in Carfraes absence last year: Switzerlands Daniela Ryf.Ryf had an amazing 2015. In August, two months before winning Kona, she won the 70.3 (half-Ironman) world championship. She went undefeated in eight races last year and won the Nasser Bin Hamad Triple Crown series -- which included a $1 million prize.But this year most of the triathlon press outlets have picked Carfrae as this weekends likely winner, primarily on the basis of Ryfs exhausting racing schedule, which included back-to-back Ironman races earlier this summer. On Saturday, though, Carfrae will inevitably be far behind Ryf after the swim and bike (Carfraes weaker events) and will have to make up time in the marathon, which can be challenging. Plus there are a lot of other women waiting to pounce if they have the opportunity.Carfrae is determined not to give them that opportunity. Shes being extra careful this week and will likely have a motor-scooter escort as she bikes out of town. Shes also going in with the goal of not necessarily winning -- you can never predict what will happen in Kona -- but having her best race ever.Basically, Ive had two years of preparation for this race, she said. And all that work isnt going to go to waste.This is her eighth year coming to Kona, her eighth year of preparation. Shes seen other competitors come and go, and she knows what it takes to win. She also knows shes going to take a year off soon so the couple can start a family. But, in the meantime, shes still having fun.Its triathlon, its sports. S--- happens, Carfrae said. Besides that one day, the rest of this past year has been good to her. She and ODonnell are healthy, fit and happy. They built a new house; they traveled. They get to do what they love. I cant complain, she said. ' ' '