Even though we shouldn't take too much from the game yesterday, our attack looked more decisive and direct yesterday with Walcott up front, and with Chamberlain and Podolski on the sides. Cazorla had someone to thread the ball in to, so he flourished too. Walcott may not be a technical genius, but his speed scares the living daylights out of teams. They won't push up as much, due to them being scared of getting countered. Giroud is a good player, but he turns like an oil tank. And though he offers us physicality and height up front, Walcott gives us a different edge. Our players get more space for themselves too. Great to see Ramsey and Gerboue on the bench too.
Yeah to me it looked a big improvement. Giroud is a decent target man but he slows down our play as his not particularly mobile. (I think this is why Wenger has favoured Gervinho) The 'Pod-Walcott-Chambo' looks to be our most balanced combo particulraly if Pod and Walcott can interchange positions. I was impressed with Walcott and it will be interesting to see if Wenger keeps the same front three against Wigan (I sincerely hope so) - He's certainly a better option in this position than Gervinho because he's a FAR better finisher.
I like Podolski. The thing that annoys people when it comes to him though is that he's reluctant to take the full back on. Very frustrating to see him pass the ball back when he could play it forward or run with it. Have a look at Chamberlain. Gets the ball, the immediately runs at the full back.
Oxo played really well last night with him and Walcott up front we turned the Reading defence inside out. I think Podolski offers something different, but to be honest, he did take on the fullback on a number of occasions and provided some dangerous crosses, one of which Cazorla scored from
Yeah, he played well yesterday. Had a number of assists. But the amount of space he was given was astounding. When games are tight, his inability to dribble and lack of commitment shows through. Probably due to him not being an actual winger.
They looked good! Purposeful, lots of running. I'd like to see Pod cut in from the right to shoot on his left as I feel this could work really well. Good observations Dubbed
The only worry if theo plays a couple of decent games, Wenger will probably decide we don't need another striker. I'd rather see them at another club
I think it's time for Walcott to move into the position he was originally bought for. Wenger only placed him on the wings to learn the trade, he has now done that and is ready for the central role. For me he is a natural striker, a pure striker from the Ian Wright mould. He is probably our best finisher in the team and exudes confidence in front of goal. We now have the players to break at pace and Walcott will lead the line with his pace and running into spaces. Hopefully Wenger will start altering the formation to suit occassions, as playing Walcott in the centre will need a formation change to work optimally with his abilities. We saw a small glimpse of it last night and we were dangerous.
Honestly Wenger needs to buy. Desperately so. We just don't have enough quality. We need genuine quality who can play with (take the burden off) Cazorla. He's on his own. '"Stop Cazorla, and you stop Arsenal". There is some truth to that. Before, if you stopped Cesc (which was virtually impossible), Nasri, RVP, Hleb, Rosicky,etc, would pop up with a moment of quality.
I dunno, lately it's been stop Arteta and you stop Arsenal. Everything seems to start with Arteta. It was no coincidence that Cazorla and Wilshere flourished yesterday. Walcott makes the opposition play deep, freeing up space for our attacking mids.
I think with Wilshere and Rosicky coming back, our midfield is looking more stronger than before. But i do get your point, RVP last year was a major player for us. Not only was he our main striker, but he also went deeper and kept the attack flowing. This is what Carzola is doing right now. But i do see signs from Wilshere that he is getting better with every game and with Rosicky coming back, will give us more options. But yes i do agree with you. To be competitve, we need a couple more signings to improve our bench strength and give some players a rest. At the moment we don't have that so we are running our best player Carzola into the ground for example.
Wilshere coming back should take some pressure of Cazorla, and he can be rested and Rosicky brought on when needed - I can't wait to see Rosicky playing full games again!! I like the idea of Ox - Theo - Pod, with Ox on the left and Pod on the right, but interchanging. It's a shame Ox can't play CF as that would be a truly fluid front 3. It gives pace, some directness, and players with pace that scare defenses. It worked well last night.
Yep did like the look of that front three. With Giroud and also Ramsey on the right, our front three has been horrendously slow at times this season, but last night we got it right. Need more games properly judge it, but hopefully Wenger sticks with that front three for Wigan.
Giroud (or another signing) will play over Walcott through the middle any non-trivial game. Reading too much into a win over the poorest side in the league. Like I've said time and again, Walcott has always done well in such games, even as a wide player. It's pretty much in the 'profile' I've posted of him in that post, and he hasn't deviated not even a teeny bit from it. Still does just as good in the games he's always done good in and just as **** in games he's always been **** in.
While I really liked the look of the front 3 last night am I the only one who though OXO didn't play well that last night especially against such a weak reading team. He overhit/underhit a lot of passes overran the ball quite often, put bad crosses in and risky flicks in our half. h may have played better than he has most of the season but way off his potential. I do seem becoming better with time and his pace is an asset but thought he was the worst of the front 6. I would like to see Rosicky given a go down the right against Wigan, I am the first to say Rosicky should play through the middle, he needs game time and he is a better dribbler and passer/crosser than OXO plus he Wilshere and Caz can interchange in the attacking third. I also want to see more of the interchange of passes between Caz and Ros that we briefly saw against Bradford much like Caz and Pod share when they are both on fire ( also now that Vela is gone he his back to being my cult favourite.)
You're not the only one, but he played "good enough". He made some very decent runs and put a few good balls in. He was the worst of our mids, but that's not saying much. It was still a good performance from him. I agree with you that Rosicky would give us more quality than Ox.
What about when Walcott scored in the tough away games at West Ham, Schalke, and Everton? That's just this season...
