Arsenal 2-0 Stoke - Match Reaction

[Power n Glory]

One of the latter questions on today's Arseblog extra was 'Does the amount of Chances Theo had against Stoke, prove that he is capable of being a forward'. I found the question interesting and even Arseblog who hates Theo found the evidence for compelling and at least thought provoking. I sometimes get the feeling that the argument against him shifts from 'oh he can't hold it up' to 'oh he couldn't finish his wife's dinner never mind a chance' as per the whim of his naysayers arguments. Which is it though? If he is missing so many chances then surely the first stand point of not being able to hold it up increasingly becomes moot?...after all...he's getting the chances and himself in the positions.

If it is about him holding the ball up....why is that such an issue if he himself is getting so many chances? If it is about his lack of finishing.....do we believe Giroud's is generally any better? How many honestly believe that Theo could or would go several games WITHOUT scoring as Giroud did last season (that is a wide spread of different teams to face)? If we don't believe he would then why shouldn't we allow him the run of games up front he has never had whilst we have the options we have and why are we so against it if the alternative leaves a lot to be desired when it most matters?

Some are almost arguing the case from the position of having a world class forward amongst our selection that we don't actually have? We didn't actually buy Benzema, but I'd swear some people think we did.

The only interesting deviation is the prospect of playing Sanchez at CF...... Wenger tried this very early on in Alexis' career here and Alexis wasn't his typical effective self, yet nobody completely wrote off his prospect of being able to do it, though some have with Theo. That was inspite of Wenger shortly moving Sanchez to the left which he then went on to flourish from. This is also almost moot point though because it is clear that Wenger is choosing from Giroud and Theo in that central position not from Theo, Giroud and Sanchez and even if he does use Sanchez.....we give ourselves a void to fill from wide.

Good points again. Someone made the point about him struggling to hold up the ball against an organised defence again today despite the fact that he just did that against Stoke of all teams. We dominated possession and kept the ball in their have for the majority of the game. Not only that, we created chances as well. There is nothing more frustrating then watching us have all that possession and create next to nothing and we've seen that in many games with Giroud struggling to get a chance on goal. There are positives to take away from this game and as seen against West Brom last season, Theo can be quite a menace when he has his shooting boots on.

Sanchez as CF is another interesting one. I recall him making the right runs but not receiving the ball. Nobody wrote him off of course, despite not being effective but it does take time for players to learn and adapt. Everyone in the team for that matter. The Arseblog article today was good and surprising considering the stance on Walcott. You'll see it here again today, a few people just blot out the positives. Not sure why people are so resistant to change in Theo's case but you're right, we haven't signed Benzema. I at least want to see Wenger exhaust all possible options rather than keep with the tried and tested which is only good enough to get us 3rd 4th in the league.

[Kano]

11 goals in 11 starts if we want to talk recent games. But you're just proving my point. It explains it all.

There is nothing worse than these type of modern day stats that are crafted solely to create or destroy an argument, isolated they look fantastic but when put into wider context, or dug into a little further they fail to look so glorious. 8 of those games were when he was on the wing. Most people will not dispute that is the position he will remain be more effective in. He'll score some goals and get some assists. Nothing revelatory there. Also not forgetting that crucially, this is in a period stretching across 20 months. Almost two years! The guy is either misscontrolling the ball, missing chances or missing games through injury. Yet he appears to have this bold confidence about himself developed on threadbare activity. I used to be a big fan of Theo but an overwhelming amount of time has passed to remove any good will and patience that he will ever 'come good'.

[Power n Glory]

How were the 11 distributed though and against which opponents. That type of stat, 11 in 11, doesn't really prove much without examining the finer details. Rooney got to be the top goalscorer for England by beating up on the San Marinos and Uzbekistans.

Well, Theo isn't getting many games these days but you can at least say when he's picked he's scoring goals. It's not as if we've been playing big teams recently either. The FA Cup was our last big game he started. Community Shield against Chelsea was his biggest opponent. No goals there but an assist at least for the only goal that won us our first game against a Jose side.

But he's no slouch when it comes to contributing in big games.

Spurs - 5 goals - 5 assists
Liverpool - 1 goal - 2 assists
Chelsea - 5 goals - 2 assists
Man Utd - 2 goals
Man City - 2 goals

You don't want me to compare Giroud's record. It's not pretty.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well, Theo isn't getting many games these days but you can at least say when he's picked he's scoring goals. It's not as if we've been playing big teams recently either. The FA Cup was our last big game he started. Community Shield against Chelsea was his biggest opponent. No goals there but an assist at least for the only goal that won us our first game against a Jose side.

But he's no slouch when it comes to contributing in big games.

Spurs - 5 goals - 5 assists
Liverpool - 1 goal - 2 assists
Chelsea - 5 goals - 2 assists
Man Utd - 2 goals
Man City - 2 goals

You don't want me to compare Giroud's record. It's not pretty.

None against Newcastle though.

[Power n Glory]

There is nothing worse than these type of modern day stats that are crafted solely to create or destroy an argument, isolated they look fantastic but when put into wider context, or dug into a little further they fail to look so glorious. 8 of those games were when he was on the wing. Most people will not dispute that is the position he will remain be more effective in. He'll score some goals and get some assists. Nothing revelatory there. Also not forgetting that crucially, this is in a period stretching across 20 months. Almost two years! The guy is either misscontrolling the ball, missing chances or missing games through injury. Yet he appears to have this bold confidence about himself developed on threadbare activity. I used to be a big fan of Theo but an overwhelming amount of time has passed to remove any good will and patience that he will ever 'come good'.

Well...it kinda disproves what you've been saying about his contribution to the team recently. As if I had to reach far back into the past to find the positives.

[Kano]

Well...it kinda disproves what you've been saying about his contribution to the team recently. As if I had to reach far back into the past to find the positives.

You have - two years PnG! That's how far this record goes back. Again, read the post. That's how bad his injury record has been, a massive part of the Theo problem.

[Power n Glory]

You have - two years PnG! That's how far this record goes back. Again, read the post. That's how bad his injury record has been, a massive part of the Theo problem.

Nah, come on. He scored 7 goals for us last season on his return from injury. 1 goal this season and 2 for England if we're counting those but if not what are talking here, 3 goals before his injury? Stop it.

[I am invisible]

This is all getting a little over-analysed for me - I liked how we looked against Stoke, and based on that game, I think Walcott has made the strongest case so far this season to start (certainly the next game) as CF. See where it goes from there...

[Kano]

You brought up this magical stat to prove how prolific he is but the facts are, that is across two years. When you look at those figures against games played, the ratio remains the same as all the other seasons, when he plays out wide. He'll score goals there and get some assists but let's not be throwing around big stats like 11 in 11 that span a period of 20 months. Why are we only looking at eleven games? Well, because it makes the stat more resonant. What happens if we go back, five, ten games before this stat was constructed? Suddenly it doesn't look so good. There is no escaping his atrocious injury record, those figures I pulled up last month regarding his time spent injured speaks volumes. He may even have a great season once again but the likelihood is, he will suffer once from injures again. Whoevers fault that it isn't a concern of mine any longer as the conversation goes nowhere, it is what it is. He doesn't play enough and he disappears far too often when needed. It's a career wasted so far.

[Power n Glory]

You brought up this magical stat to prove how prolific he is but the facts are, that is across two years. When you look at those figures against games played, the ratio remains the same as all the other seasons, when he plays out wide. He'll score goals there and get some assists but let's not be throwing around big stats like 11 in 11 that span a period of 20 months. Why are we only looking at eleven games? Well, because it makes the stat more resonant. What happens if we go back, five, ten games before this stat was constructed? Suddenly it doesn't look so good. There is no escaping his atrocious injury record, those figures I pulled up last month regarding his time spent injured speaks volumes. He may even have a great season once again but the likelihood is, he will suffer once from injures again. Whoevers fault that it isn't a concern of mine any longer as the conversation goes nowhere, it is what it is. He doesn't play enough and he disappears far too often when needed. It's a career wasted so far.

FA Cup final? His injury record is not up for dispute. You were saying he hasn't contributed anything significant recently and you're just plain wrong. We could go back before his injury. 7 starts, 5 goals and 1 assist. 18 games in total 6 goals, 7 assists.

His injury record is awful. I won't dispute that one. That's just a fact. But everything else you say is just plain wrong.