Danny Welbeck handed golden chance due to Daniel Sturridge injury

Danny Welbeck is likely to get his wish against Switzerland a start as England’s centre forward.

The thigh injury picked up by Daniel Sturridge means that Arsenal’s new £16 million recruit will probably lead the attack against Switzerland alongside his former Manchester United team-mate, Wayne Rooney.

Welbeck has scored eight times in his 18 starts for his country, but he has still been the one shunted out wide to accommodate the other two.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to get a constant run of games as a No 9, but I have faith in my ability,” he said.

“I prefer to play as a centre forward, obviously, but it’s up to the manager. I don’t pick the team. I can’t say: ‘I want to play here’, or ‘I want to play there’.

“I’ll always work hard for the team if I’m playing wide. But I will also work hard if I’m a No 9.”

Hodgson agrees with Welbeck’s own assessment of his best position, and acknowledges that he has exploited the player’s versatility in the past.

“I’ve thought from when I first came into contact with Danny that centre forward is his best position,” said the England manager.

“But I also thought that he’s a player I needed in the team, and as I had two centre forwards, there was no way I could really incorporate them all except to ask Danny to do the job as a left midfielder.

“His record for England is very good, especially in terms of goals per minute.”

Following his switch to the Gunners, Welbeck hopes there will now be more opportunities as a central striker at club level to give Hodgson a selection headache.

But in the meantime, he’s more concerned with helping his team-mates to reconstruct following a psychologically bruising World Cup.

He has already pinpointed the moment when United lost the league title to rivals Manchester City in the last seconds of the season as an example of how to use disappointment as a spur.

“The feeling in the dressing-room after the Uruguay game was one of those moments you will remember forever,” he admitted.

“I’ve had them before, and it has only driven me on to do better things. I remember when we lost the title on the last day and Sir Alex Ferguson told us to never forget that moment. The next season we won the League.

“I don’t think England got bullied or obliterated in Brazil. The two results didn’t go our way and it was very disappointing for us as a nation.

“The players really felt it. When we get together as a group we can analyse it and clarify what we think went wrong. We all have our own opinions, and we talk about where we can improve.

“It’s good to see that youngsters are being given the opportunity in the national side. You see in training the outstanding talent they’ve got, and how it can have a massive impact.

“I am 23 now and no longer a young player. A lot of the squad are younger than me by quite a few years. At this stage of my career, I really I want to push on and be the best I can be.”