Switzerland vs England: Give me the No 9 shirt and I'll answer the call, says Danny Welbeck

'I've never had a constant run in the team up front, but I have faith in my ability,' claims Arsenal's new striker

Cutting edge: Danny Welbeck, who has made no secret of his preference for the No 9 shirt, knows that he must deliver for England (Getty)

Danny Welbeck is ready to shoot as straight as he talks. With Daniel Sturridge out of England's opening European Championship qualifier in Switzerland tomorrow, Welbeck's moment has come. Give me the shirt and I'll show you what I can do, or words to that affect, is the unmistakable message to manager Roy Hodgson.

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Not for the first time Welbeck looked the business in the cameo role, coming off the bench in Wednesday night's tepid friendly against Norway to lead the England line with menace. For 20 minutes in Wayne Rooney's stead he looked a snip for Arsenal at £16 million and every inch the centre forward around whom, according to Sir Alex Ferguson, England might build the future.

All too often his pace, quick feet, commitment and a willingness to hunt the ball have seen him shunted out wide to accommodate Rooney, Robin van Persie or A.N. Other big name for club and country. At 23 he is done with that role. In the Premier League the move from Manchester United to Arsenal gives him the chance to run at defences through the middle. Injury to Sturridge opens the international door with England.

"I prefer nine. I have answered this question a lot. It's up to the manager. Monday is an opportunity. Every time you get on the pitch it is an opportunity to show what you can do. I've never had a constant run in the team at No 9 but I have faith in my ability. If I get my opportunity to do what I know I can do then great, but I'll keep working hard.

"Whoever gets the chance on Monday I'm sure they will be looking to showcase his talent. Raheem [Sterling] and Daniel [Sturridge] are players I like to play alongside. All the attacking players gel well, including the midfield players pushing on. It wasn't just me coming on."

Sitting alongside Welbeck in a small conference room at England's St George's Park headquarters, Hodgson's ears were permanently pricked. He was obviously impressed by the manner in which Welbeck handled his first media interrogation since the move to Arsenal and the composure with which he spelled out his position.

The big issue with Welbeck is goals, or the lack of them, 20 in 90 appearances for United, eight in 27 for England. But, as Hodgson points out, the figures can mislead. "The fact is for people like Danny Welbeck, who at Manchester United was facing competition from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie to name just two, some of the so-called games were no more than 10 or 15 minutes.

"Coming off the bench is harder to get you into the goal-scoring mood than it is when your name is first on the team sheet. His record for England in terms of goals per minute is very good because he hasn't always started for us either and has spent a lot of time in a wider left position.

"He makes it clear that centre-forward is his best position. From the first moment I came into contact with him I have always thought the same. But I also thought he was a good player I needed in the team and I had two centre forwards. There was no way I could incorporate them all except to ask him to do a job as a left midfielder hoping, with his ability, that he would get into the box for us and score some goals."

Hodgson no longer has that dilemma. The loss of Sturridge is an opportunity to give Welbeck his head over Liverpool striker Ricky Lambert. And Arsenal's new rapier is ready to accept the responsibility. "You have to play the game and not the occasion. That has been instilled in me since I was a kid. Once you get on the pitch it is just another game. You can't look at it any other way. Mentally you have to prepare right. It is the same with every game. It is 11 v 11. They haven't got 12 men.

"You can't go into the match thinking you have to do this or that, impress so and so. It's not like that. the main thing is to get a win and get off to a good start. There is a lot of talent in the squad with competition for places. You have to get on the pitch and do the best you can. When I've played for England I've probably been further up the pitch but I wouldn't say I have typically played better for England. I play the same way. I give 100 per cent.

"It is pleasing to be picked in every squad. It gives you the motivation to keep working hard. I have played a number of games on the international stage and always try to make an impact, just as I do in club games."

Tomorrow's fixture in Switzerland is the first step towards erasing the memory of Brazil and restoring a sense of pride and optimism in the England project. The empty stands at Wembley were a telling riposte, an indicator that love is not unconditional. England have to earn our respect and our business. Welbeck knows the score, as it were.

"The first half an hour against Italy was exciting but we didn't score a goal. Sturridge got one after they scored. But we have to move on from that and put the ball in the back of the net. You can be playing the best game of your life and be 2-0 down in two minutes. You can't afford to get carried away in games. You have to stay focused.

"We didn't get bullied or obliterated [in the World Cup]. It's football. The results did not go our way. That was a big disappointment for everybody, the whole nation. The players really felt it, especially after the Uruguay game. It will be a moment that will stay with you. I've had a few of them in my career and it only drives you on to do better things.

"I remember the last day of the season with Man Utd [Sunderland, 2012]. The manager told us to remember that feeling. The next season we won the league. It's always in you. You know what that feeling is like and don't want to feel it again."