What now for Walcott?

[Dennis Bendtner]

Would it help if i said Leo dying is my best bit?

Harsh, he is dreamy tbf.

[milla]

A simple 'wash' would be appropriate in most cases.

I like cockwash more, it remind me of ILT and TEG, these board has seen her better days.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Would it help if i said Leo dying is my best bit?

Just leave Messi alone.

[Power n Glory]

I think cos Theo doesn't the qualities required to be Wenger's striker. Podolski has pace, technique and power. Giroud has strength, technique, and can hold the ball. Gerv fast, solid dribbler and can take on players. All the guys has more than one strength to enable them to play as CF. Can Theo take on two CBs with his pace? or dribble between FB and CB? can he bring others into play or hold up the ball. That is the bigger question.. Hell Diaby, Arshavin and Baptista have all play as CF before but you can see most of them has more than 2-3 skill set in their bags to play as CF (at least at Arsenal, also it didn't make them a better striker either) but sadly Theo only has his pace, that is the problem.

Football has evolved so much, you will find traditional striker ala Wrighty will never play for big team (look at Defoe and Bent), Theo is the same IMO.

I believe he will be good but he will never be good enough, not because he has bad attitude but he lacks the qualities required to make a good striker (at least at Arsenal).

A lot of RVP's goals last season came from intelligent movement, not solo efforts as you've described. Both Poldoski and Giroud have struggled playing there and haven't been able to impose themselves by dribbling past players. Theo has more than just pace, he has movement and a striker that is always moving is hard to deal with. We've seen him take on big defenders and score, playing up front is different but it's not as if we have any massive success stories right now. When he runs on to a ball, he sorts his feet out quickly, just think of the Chelsea goals. He needs a chance at leat to prove himself.

[Marc Overmars]

Hes played as a winger. Show me a consistent winger,

Even Marc Overmars was a bit shit most of the time.

The player was brilliant though.....

madar chod

[Cripps_orig]

madar chod

[Niall_Quinn]

You can give him the benefit of the doubt but i can't be bothered. Wright, Owen, Defoe...play them on the flanks and they're not all of a sudden going to develop fantastic dribbling and crossing skills. To argue otherwise is foolish and to say their class should shine through regardless is retarded. In what way will it shine through? Theo can't dribble but has a knack for scoring goals. He gets better numbers than a lot of his peers. That's how his talent shines through. It's not gonna coming from dribbling because he's not that sort of player. Why is this so hard to comprehend? It's like I'd you switch a centre back to playing as a wing back, he's not going to excel at the attacking side, but he shoul be decent enough to stay back, defend and mark.

Your argument works if you just assume Walcott is a striker. What a massive assumption. His positional play is catastrophic. His decision making entirely absent. How will this benefit him (or more importantly the team) if he's promoted to the key role? Wouldn't it have been a bit sad if he hadn't scored that sitter yesterday? Make a list, anyone would have scored it. He's shown some good finishing skills once in a blue moon. And for every time he's done that he's fluffed it ten or twenty times more. Seriously though, do you think that's not a fact? He can't pass, cross, shoot, beat a man, exploit space, do any of the things that mark out a top player, not with even minimum consistency - so move him up front?

In one respect I see what you are saying. Bendtner, Chamakh, so why not Walcott? Because we could do with a consistent performer up top. A proper player. We had one, he's gone. RvC carried us last year, are you really saying Walcott could have done it or even got close to it? Based on his development I just don't know where you get this confidence in his ability from. Yes he scored a few, yes he assisted, but if you play him enough times and the 1 in 10 will yield statistics. What's not included in those stats is the extreme wastage.

Anyway, he's gone. If we want to say it's for footballing reasons then fine, we can pretend the money angle is not there and Theo is somehow different, misunderstood, cheated from his legacy. Maybe he'll get his chance as a striker with City, Utd or the Chavs if what you say is true.

[Niall_Quinn]

Yep, that's your zone. Bang on the money. Excuse the pun. You're blinkered and money creeps into everything even though this is a conversation about player development, skill and how best to use a player.

I talked about how to best use him - sell him. If he doesn't want to sign then what's the alternative? Give him paper and a pencil and ask him to write down how the team should play, where his position should be, what his wages should be? How you can tolerate a player like this is a huge mystery to me.

[milla]

A lot of RVP's goals last season came from intelligent movement, not solo efforts as you've described. Both Poldoski and Giroud have struggled playing there and haven't been able to impose themselves by dribbling past players. Theo has more than just pace, he has movement and a striker that is always moving is hard to deal with. We've seen him take on big defenders and score, playing up front is different but it's not as if we have any massive success stories right now. When he runs on to a ball, he sorts his feet out quickly, just think of the Chelsea goals. He needs a chance at leat to prove himself.

All strikers have movement (to match their style) and score goals.. RVP's intelligence which he combined with solid technique and strength. Again, this why Wenger never use Theo as striker, he is too one dimensional IMO. And remember it is not just scoring goal at Arsenal, it is about enabling others around you. Theo doesn't have this skills to be playing as CF for Wenger.

It is still early days to judge Podolski or Giroud, that's why I don't use their goal statistic to compare with Theo but rather what they offer on the play.

[Niall_Quinn]

A lot of RVP's goals last season came from intelligent movement...

Exactly, another reason why Theo can't play there.

Theo has more than just pace, he has movement and a striker that is always moving is hard to deal with. We've seen him take on big defenders and score, playing up front is different but it's not as if we have any massive success stories right now.

Three times in his whole career? And settling for Theo because the other options are shite is more of an invitation to dive into the transfer market that kiss Theo's arse.