Walcott - Play him as a striker or don't play him at all

[Grebbo]

He's quick and is a good finisher.

He's crap on the wing and can't cross.

RVP is the only striker at the club.

Doesn't take a genius to work out what to do does it?

[Power n Glory]

It makes no sense playing him on the wing. None what so ever. A complete waste of time and it’s like we’re an extra man down. We’d be better off giving Ryo and The Ox game time out there. They have the pace and most importantly, they can dribble.

Theo can’t dribble to save his life. Totally useless at beating his man. Wings backs can see him coming from a mile off and read all of his telegraphed moves. He doesn’t even look to receive the ball from deep. He was making runs and looking for people to play him in all day yesterday but that’s not the function of a winger.

Theo might as well leave if he wants to play as a striker. Wenger won’t change the formation for him and he might as well because the third man in our middle is practically useless. Arteta is garbage and Ramsey is pretty useless. We might as well play 4-4-2 with Rosicky and Song in the middle. Even if we don’t play Theo up front, we could get a great deal more out of Arsahvin if he’s around the box more. We all saw what little Mozart can do when on the edge of the box yesterday. That’s the area he should be in for most of the game and shouldn’t be busting a gut down the flanks wasting energy if he hasn’t got the DNA for it.

Then we’ve got Park and Chamakh to think about. Neither of these players are suited for a lone striker role and would benefit from someone like Arshavin or RVP playing alongside them threading them through on goal. So far, I’ve never seen us play a game where all of our three central midfield players are completely bossing it like the Barca trio. Wenger has adjust it.

[Cripps_orig]

It makes no sense playing him on the wing. None what so ever. A complete waste of time and it’s like we’re an extra man down. We’d be better off giving Ryo and The Ox game time out there. They have the pace and most importantly, they can dribble.

Theo can’t dribble to save his life. Totally useless at beating his man. Wings backs can see him coming from a mile off and read all of his telegraphed moves. He doesn’t even look to receive the ball from deep. He was making runs and looking for people to play him in all day yesterday but that’s not the function of a winger.

Theo might as well leave if he wants to play as a striker. Wenger won’t change the formation for him and he might as well because the third man in our middle is practically useless. Arteta is garbage and Ramsey is pretty useless. We might as well play 4-4-2 with Rosicky and Song in the middle. Even if we don’t play Theo up front, we could get a great deal more out of Arsahvin if he’s around the box more. We all saw what little Mozart can do when on the edge of the box yesterday. That’s the area he should be in for most of the game and shouldn’t be busting a gut down the flanks wasting energy if he hasn’t got the DNA for it.

Then we’ve got Park and Chamakh to think about. Neither of these players are suited for a lone striker role and would benefit from someone like Arshavin or RVP playing alongside them threading them through on goal. So far, I’ve never seen us play a game where all of our three central midfield players are completely bossing it like the Barca trio. Wenger has adjust it.

Hes a bit shit tbh

[fakeyank]

It makes no sense playing him on the wing. None what so ever. A complete waste of time and it’s like we’re an extra man down. We’d be better off giving Ryo and The Ox game time out there. They have the pace and most importantly, they can dribble.

Theo can’t dribble to save his life. Totally useless at beating his man. Wings backs can see him coming from a mile off and read all of his telegraphed moves. He doesn’t even look to receive the ball from deep. He was making runs and looking for people to play him in all day yesterday but that’s not the function of a winger.

Theo might as well leave if he wants to play as a striker. Wenger won’t change the formation for him and he might as well because the third man in our middle is practically useless. Arteta is garbage and Ramsey is pretty useless. We might as well play 4-4-2 with Rosicky and Song in the middle. Even if we don’t play Theo up front, we could get a great deal more out of Arsahvin if he’s around the box more. We all saw what little Mozart can do when on the edge of the box yesterday. That’s the area he should be in for most of the game and shouldn’t be busting a gut down the flanks wasting energy if he hasn’t got the DNA for it.

Then we’ve got Park and Chamakh to think about. Neither of these players are suited for a lone striker role and would benefit from someone like Arshavin or RVP playing alongside them threading them through on goal. So far, I’ve never seen us play a game where all of our three central midfield players are completely bossing it like the Barca trio. Wenger has adjust it.

Simple logic yet the man responsible for the team cant see it or overlooks it. It bugs me no end to see AW just not noticing the obvious. What on earth is wrong with him? Is he on meth, cocaine or something? This doesnt make sense..

[Fats]

I have been a fan of Walcotts since he arrived at the club.

I think he has more to his game than pace too. He can see a pass now and thats a huge improvement from few years ago. He can also tackle and track his runner.

Thing is his improvement is maybe not enough and his form and influence on a match inconsistent.

One thing I judge some of our players on is if we had to play against them if they played for a different team, and would we be worried to their threat.

Unfortunately If he was on the oppositions team sheet I dont think I would be too worried.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Simple logic yet the man responsible for the team cant see it or overlooks it. It bugs me no end to see AW just not noticing the obvious. What on earth is wrong with him? Is he on meth, cocaine or something? This doesnt make sense..

does he not play in the wing for england too, so Capello must on what Wenger is then not to see it.

end of the day theo is not good enough no matter what team he plays in.

[Power n Glory]

does he not play in the wing for england too, so Capello must on what Wenger is then not to see it.

end of the day theo is not good enough no matter what team he plays in.

International football is different to club football. Walcott gets picked for England because of what he does on the wing for Arsenal. Fabio can't risk playing him in a new position and can't offer the same consistant chances to see if he clicks there. At Arsenal, we develop players so it's a different story. We can afford to give him a few games up front for a Carling Cup game or a few sub apperances up front. It makes no sense going down this path when it wasn't the road he was on when playing for Southampton.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

International football is different to club football. Walcott gets picked for England because of what he does on the wing for Arsenal. Fabio can't risk playing him in a new position and can't offer the same consistant chances to see if he clicks there. At Arsenal, we develop players so it's a different story. We can afford to give him a few games up front for a Carling Cup game or a few sub apperances up front. It makes no sense going down this path when it wasn't the road he was on when playing for Southampton.

im not saying he should be played on the left or on the wing i agree down the middle, my point was even though wenger( for whatever reason) plays him on the wing, Capello could play him upfront if he thought it was more benefical to him. For some reason he keeps him on the wing when he is not effective.

[Flavs]

International football is different to club football. Walcott gets picked for England because of what he does on the wing for Arsenal. Fabio can't risk playing him in a new position and can't offer the same consistant chances to see if he clicks there. At Arsenal, we develop players so it's a different story. We can afford to give him a few games up front for a Carling Cup game or a few sub apperances up front. It makes no sense going down this path when it wasn't the road he was on when playing for Southampton.

Stick him and Ju up front in a 4-4-2 against Bolton and see what happens

[Power n Glory]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thefootba...o_play_up.html

Worth a read.

Following the Bulgaria game, Walcott, who was signed from Southampton in January 2006, said: "I'm not a natural winger, I was bought as a striker. If you are on the flanks, you have to make the runs anyway. You can't stay quiet on the wings and Arsenal are not the sort of team who will cross it anyway. We try and walk it into the net.


"I am not demanding anything - I will play anywhere for club and country - but hopefully if I keep on putting it out there with the manager, it will come. I would love it if it happens."

He knows his game is suited for the right wing but that's where he's been told to play and I'm pretty sure he's aware of the criticism. I'll give him credit for sticking with it, but most players would have left Wenger by now. This is ruining his reputation but luckily his confidence is still there because he keeps on going.