Play the boy as a striker .. this is where he is at his most effective, when he doesn't have to think, just do !! Fantastic finishes. He is wasted as a winger, I hope Wenger takes notice. Awful first half as a winger, in advanced positions as the furthest man forward .. devastating !
Even his runs are good when he pushes further up. Lets start playing our players where they are actually effective
Walcott is a confidence player - and he is far too often afraid to play with freedom. The example today where he was through on goal and passed it to RVP (who had 3 players round him) was an indication of just how afraid he is to really go for it. Then, he all of a sudden bursts in to life??? He did it against Chelsea too. The problem is he is just as likely to be totally awful in the next game.
I dont think it makes s difference if he's playing through the middle or on the right. Its not like we play a 442 all three players are Forwards.Walcott is just a confidence player.
Walcott was pretty bad in the first half. Thing is if we move the ball quick enough then having Walcott as the wide player in a front three is a dangerous weapon. Last season with the likes of Jack and Cesc we did move the ball quick and Walcott was played in to score the goals he did. 13 goals last season from that wide role. That is a very good return. In the 2nd half we moved the ball very quick and Walcott caught them out with his runs. If we went 4-4-1-1/4-4-2 then I want to a better forward then Walcott to play upfront alongside Van Persie.
When Walcott is on the edge of the last man he is a completely different player. He can't do that stuck on the wing, he is less than useless. He needs to play further up on the shoulder of the last man.
Agreed - he has good movement and can finish when confident, but he cant cross and he cant beat players (not good for a winger!) He basically has to be recieving the ball, not passing it.
Walcott is a good finisher and has pace. Thats it. On the negative side he has no strength, a poor touch and his decision making IS poor. Thats not a media myth. I think he has something to offer the squad as a super sub/squad player. I just have a problem with him being in every team every week. Doubt it does him much good either. I think theo will probably leave in summer unless he has a fantastic end to the season. I doubt we will pay the wages he will probably want.
He also has good movement, and great timing of runs. Overall he has let himself down this season and will ahve to be on top form for the rest of the year to win the Arsenals fans over.
I dont think he has good movement. If he did then he would surelyy have more goals to his name. Look how many goals some players have scored from that wide forward position in other teams.
I think being an enigma or "on their day" type of player is just a cop out. At the end of the day its about winning matches on a consistant basis. Good players perform more often than not. Great players perform almost every game. We need players like that. I just think theo isnt very good but yet has some games where the law of averages mean things come together for him.
Put someone like Defoe on the wings and see how well he does there.... Then compare Walcott to Lennon Same position Lennons older + more experienced Lennon IS a winger, Walcott is a striker yet Walcott scores more, assists more,
Well defoe up front is completely awful so seeing him on the wing would be laugh. Some players just arent good enough to be a big part in a title winning side. IMO Walcott, defoe, lennon all fall into that category. Of coure they can be squad players in a title winning side...
I think Arsenal4life has it spot on. Walcott sprung into life against a side that were deflated and beginning to tire-perfect supersub material. Unfortunately, due to our financial constraints it is unlikely that we can afford that luxury. The way we are set up, so much of our attacking play goes through that right wing position and while Walcott has speed and a tidy finish (sometimes) I can't help but feel that if a talented winger with guile, the eye for a ball, trickery, AND speed then we would be much more effective and would be out of sight in many of the games that we should have won this season but didn't, Blackburn away for example. Selling Walcott and bringing in Eden Hazard would be a major improvement. Consistency is the key here and Walcott simply has not shown enough to occupy his important position in the team. I like him as a person, he seems like a nice guy but we shouldn't let his couple of goals blind us to the fact that his first half performance was useless as it has been for much of the season.
