Arsene Wenger once had Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp as part of his Invincibles attack but he believes his firepower in 2017 is the best he has ever had in 21 years with the North Londoners.

The Arsenal manager faces a conundrum now that Danny Welbeck has returned from injury to compete with Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Perez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Alex Iwobi for four places in the line-up.

Wenger had so many forward options he was prompted to make his startling claim that he was far happier with that side of Arsenal’s game than he was in 2003-04 when they went the entire season unbeaten to win the Premier League.

“Yes. I think certainly numbers wise and quality wise together,” said Wenger when asked if it was his best attacking until ever.

“We had never so many players who could perform and score goals – certainly never.

“Bergkamp and Henry had the quality but we did not have a large number. We had Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires as well so it was not bad.

“I don’t know how to manage them. I think it is to make the decision for the next game that you think is the right one.

“Sometimes you consider the problem you face, sometimes you consider the fitness of the players, the fact that for example they have played three day before, have they recovered or not.

“You just try to be honest in your decision and keep everybody on board.”

Welbeck scored twice in the 5-0 FA Cup win at Southampton on Saturday on his first start of the season making Wenger one of the few managers happy that there are plenty of games in the Premier League, cup and Champions League to rotate his attack.

“It helps playing so many games and it is important to stay in all the competition,” he said.

“If you have one game every week and you have several strikers, I wish you good luck to keep them happy.

Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Harry Lewis - 5 out of 10 Spent most of the night picking the ball out of the net. A tricky night for the young keeper. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Cuco Martina - 6 out of 10 Looked lively going forward in particular playing one delicious ball forward for Long. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Florian Gardos - 6 out of 10 Played after a long time out but was given a difficult game. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Jack Stephens - 5 out of 10 Outclassed by Arsenal’s attack. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Sam McQueen - 5 out of 10 Not the best showing for the Saints defender. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 6 out of 10 Came close with a couple of chances but struggled to exert much influence on the game. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Harrison Reed - 5 out of 10 You’d be forgiven for not noticing he was on the pitch. Outshone by his opposite numbers in the Arsenal midfield. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Jordy Clasie - 5 out of 10 A bit disappointing ultimately and failed to impact the game much at all. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Josh Sims - 7 out of 10 The brightest spark for Southampton, lacked that final clinical touch but showed exciting glimpses. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Shane Long - 6 out of 10 Showed flashes whenever he was on the ball but never really got the service he needed. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Lloyd Isgrove - 5 out of 10 Struggled to really get on the ball and was subbed in the second half. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings David Ospina - 6 out of 10 The odd slightly eccentric moment aside had a fairly quiet evening. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Hector Bellerin - 6 out of 10 Looked lively at times going forward and had very little to do in defence. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Shkodran Mustafi - 7 out of 10 Came close to scoring and was relatively untroubled at the back. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Rob Holding - 7 out of 10 Not an overly testing game at the back and as a result looked fairly assured. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Kieran Gibbs - 6 out of 10 The odd glimpse of his talents going forward and like his defensive colleagues had little to do at the back. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 8 out of 10 Arguably the man of the match, playing some delightful balls forward including the assist for Welbeck’s second and generally being a danger all over the park. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 6 out of 10 Solid enough but wasn’t exactly a tricky evening’s football, will face sterner tests. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Jeff Reine-Adelaide - 7 out of 10 A quietly efficient performance, looked good in the Arsenal midfield before being subbed midway though second half. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Theo Walcott - 8 out of 10 Will go home with the match ball after picking up a hat trick finishing three times from close range. An easy and satisfying afternoon for him. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Lucas Perez - 7 out of 10 Often anonymous, but occasionally popped up to provide crucial touches like the assist for Arsenal’s first goal, encouraging if slightly hit and miss. Southampton 0 Arsenal 5 player ratings Danny Welbeck - 8 out of 10 Enjoyed a great return to the side, scoring twice and setting up another. Arsenal fans must be praying he stays fit.

“It is impossible. People always want you to buy more. And after when you have them they say ‘how do you keep them happy now?’

“They all get annoyed. They have a different way to show it. It is part of their job as well.

“But they are all committed to the club. For example, at the start of the season I bought Perez who for me is a very good player.

“But why? Because Welbeck was out until now basically and I didn’t know how it would take.

Alexis Sanchez has played a key role in Arsenal's front line this season (Getty)

“No doctor can tell you it is March or January.

“He was ahead of schedule so after sometimes you have a congestion there as some players come back quicker than expected. But when you make the decision to buy, you don’t know.”

Wenger wants to avoid a repeat of the narrow 2-1 win over Burnley and beat Watford more comfortably at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.