Young professional footballers can be an easy target with some of their behaviour but on Thursday afternoon it was refreshing to sit down and talk with Danny Welbeck. He struck me as a thoroughly decent young man who lives his life the right way. He is a credit to his family and his easy-going manner means he must a dream to work with. We discussed life at Arsenal, scoring against Manchester United and his FA Cup dreams. You can watch the full interview on Football Focus on BBC One today at 12.10pm and Reading’s semi-final with Arsenal live on BBC One from 5.05pm. Danny Welbeck talks to Sportsmail's Martin Keown ahead of Arsenal's FA Cup semi-final against Reading . MARTIN KEOWN: You’ve played at Wembley many times and you’ve played in a semi-final as well but you’re now one step away from an FA Cup final. Does that bring extra nerves? DANNY WELBECK: Not really. I think we’ve basically just got to play the game, not the occasion. The team was in this position last year and coming up against Wigan proved to be one of the toughest games of the season. Against Reading today is going to be another tough game. We’ve just got to approach it the right way and we want to get through to the final. Welbeck expects a tough test as Arsenal face a Championship side at Wembley for the second year in a row . KEOWN: How are you settling in? You seem to have been here all your life almost and you’ve only been here seven or eight months. WELBECK: The staff at the club, at the training ground and everyone has been very welcoming. The fans have been brilliant. My team-mates are class and I’m just really enjoying my time here. I’ve settled in very well. It’s a transitional year for me, getting to know new players, new team-mates, new systems and new ways of going about things at a different club. I think I’ve put in a few good performances. I’ve been unlucky on the club front with goals and that’s something I know will come in abundance when I get to know everything spot on with the club and I’m pretty sure that will happen. The Arsenal striker thinks he has been unlucky in front of goal, but wants to play in a more central role . KEOWN: You talk about goals, you’re playing in a wide position. What’s your favourite position? WELBECK: It’s no secret I prefer to play down the middle. But the formation we play at Arsenal, you’re playing on the left or the right. We’re always interchanging, playing in a three-man attack. It’s much easier doing that than playing left midfield or left wing in a four-man midfield. KEOWN: Wenger has worked with lots of strikers over the years and been able to develop them. What’s the area that he’s working on most with you most of all? WELBECK: We talk about the game, we analyse performances and on the training pitch we’ve also got the other staff here so after training we do a bit of individual work so that happens every day. You are always looking at ways to improve as a player, to develop and I feel like I am developing well as a player. Welbeck, who says he has been made to feel very welcome at Arsenal, holds of Nacho Monreal in training . KEOWN: Is it your movement he works on? Is it holding up the ball? Finishing? Or is it a combination? WELBECK: It’s a combination of everything. You don’t just work on one thing. Every single day all the lads after training go out and do finishing. KEOWN: Does that become competitive? To see who can score the most goals? WELBECK: Yeah it does! It gets competitive but it’s obviously all fun. But at the end of the day nobody wants to come last. We work on a lot of areas of our game. Like his team-mate Theo Walcott, Welbeck is often forced out wide, despite preferring being a central striker . KEOWN: In the last round you put out Manchester United. How did it feel to score at Old Trafford? WELBECK: It was a weird occasion for me going to back to Old Trafford on the away side. The weirdest thing was warming up on the other side of the pitch. It just felt a bit weird. But you have to treat it like it’s any other game and play the game, not the occasion. Obviously I was going back to a club that brought me up and going back to the fans that supported me for years, playing against old team-mates, my old friends, it was a weird occasion. But I scored the goal, a big goal to get us through to the semi-final. So it was a spur of the moment to celebrate. The English international scored the winning goal on his return to Old Trafford in the quarter finals last month . KEOWN: Did it cross your mind not to celebrate? WELBECK: Leading up to the game I had no plans whatsoever. I just wanted to play the game, get it over and done with and get through to Wembley and get to the semi-final. That’s what happened. I scored the goal and whatever I did I would have been criticised – criticised if I celebrated or criticised if I didn’t. It was just spur of the moment. KEOWN: Against Manchester United you seemed extra motivated. Was it anything to do with Louis Van Gaal’s comments before the match? WELBECK: I didn’t see the comments. Going into every game I want to be motivated. Playing against Manchester United – I did it earlier in the season at the Emirates – and then it was a bit different this time going back to Old Trafford. There was motivation there but I’m motivated in every game. I want to do well for my team, try and win the game and in that case get through to the semi-final. Listen, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, some you like, some you don’t like but that’s just football and it’s life. You deal with it. Welbeck celebrates in front of his old fans, a decision he says was entirely spur of the moment . KEOWN: I think you showed a lot of mental strength going into that situation. It’s always difficult going back. WELBECK: You’ve got to be strong mentally living the life and being a professional footballer. There’s a lot of people out to get you and whatever you do, everyone’s watching. You’ve just got to be switched on 100 per cent of the time. That’s just the way I’ve been brought up. My parents are lovely, caring people and they look after me well, they brought me up well and it’s the same with me and my brothers that’s credit to them. The striker has quickly become a favourite at the Emirates, and he thanked the fans for their support . KEOWN: This weekend it’s Reading. Have you looked much at their team? WELBECK: You get to watch a few games throughout the season. I know they’ve got players with Premier League experience. I’ve seen them a couple of games this season being a bit direct. [Pavel] Pogrebnyak’s a player they look for quite often from the back and the wingers will be coming inside to get the ball and flick-ons. Hal Robson-Kanu plays a bit more inside and [Gareth] McCleary is a bit more out and out on the right wing. Welbeck has been working hard in training to try and improve his finishing, along with his team-mates . KEOWN: Good knowledge… . WELBECK: Yeah I know quite a lot about football! KEOWN: As a centre forward or a winger, do you look for the weaknesses in the opposition? WELBECK: You’ve got to analyse the positives and negatives in every single team. You look at that and obviously see where you can nullify their attack and see where their weaknesses are at the back. The Gunners forward picked out Pavel Pogrebnyak as one of Reading's most dangerous players . KEOWN: How much would it mean to you to get to the FA Cup final? WELBECK: It would mean a lot. I’ve been in this position before with Man United when we played Everton in the semi-finals a few years back and we lost on penalties. I remember the situation, I remember how I felt that day and that’s something I don’t want to feel again. I just want to get to the next stage, get to the final. This is a very important game so we’re all looking forward to it, we’re going to approach it like it’s any other and play the game not the occasion.
Danny Welbeck met up with Sportsmail's Martin Keown.
Welbeck thanks fans and staff for making him so welcome at Arsenal.
Former Manchester United striker talks about scoring at Old Trafford.
Welbeck wants to be a striker, but says playing on the wing is easier in a front three than when part of a midfield four.
Arsenal take on Reading at Wembley on Saturday evening.