Is Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck really good enough to walk into Manchester City’s starting XI?

No. The answer is no. Now somebody tell that to George Boateng

George Boateng thinks Danny Welbeck is good enough to play for City (Getty)

George Boateng’s chances of landing any more punditry work this decade suffered a major blow on Friday morning, when he suggested Danny Welbeck was one of four Arsenal players good enough to walk into Pep Guardiola’s table-topping Manchester City team.

“Of Arsenal’s starting line-up, probably only four players could get into the Manchester City team,” the former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa midfielder said on Sky Sports News, to the sound of a car crashing and smashing glass.

“I would pick [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang. I would. Mesut Ozil is good enough when he is at his pomp. He’s a good player.

Goerge Boateng in his playing days, before the hot takes (Getty)

“You’ve got Henrikh Mkhitaryan who they just signed. I think he is a good player who would do very well in the top four.

“Then you probably have, if he is fit, you probably have [Danny] Welbeck. He is a very good player. But fitness has always been an issue.”

Here are a collection of hot-off-the-press football facts that Boateng is presumably unaware of:

• Manchester City are top of the table. Arsenal are 30-points behind, in sixth.
• Welbeck has scored three Premier League goals this season.
• He last scored more than five league goals in one season in 2014, when he was still playing for Manchester United.
• City are hardly in need of Welbeck’s goal-scoring prowess, having managed 82 in the league this season already.
• Aguero alone, meanwhile, has managed more goals this campaign than Welbeck has in the last five seasons.
• Basically, Welbeck isn't really at City's level right now. 

Boateng did however correct acknowledge that “fitness has always been an issue” for Welbeck, which means his level of analysis is at least good enough for a place on the beIN Sports sofa, should he find himself looking for work anytime soon.