I wish it were that simple.Originally Posted by I am invisible
I wish it were that simple.
I actually don't mind seeing him play wide right but I do think it is a little farcical that we invest so much in him and then Wenger just pulls him out of the team.....especially in the absence of anyone who is really making a compelling case to keep him out of the team. I think he has done enough to start most games....regardless of where Wenger wants to play him.
I don't know why you guys are turning this into Theo vs Giroud when pretty much everyone here agrees that Giroud isn't good enough. The wider issue is whether Theo is good enough to lead the line for a title challenging team, which I'm not convinced of.
He didn't hold up shit against Stoke, he did what he normally does which is making runs into space. Come on PnG, you know very well that this is not the Stoke of old. They try to play football under Hughes and came to the Emirates with a very attacking line up. If they were sitting deep how did Theo get through on goal two or three times, and if they were organised how did we create 30 odd chances? Even Barca don't create that many chances! They were all over the place.
The point is he wont get those chances in every game. Have a look at the starts he has made up front. In order it has been: West Brom, Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Stoke. I'll give him credit for the West Brom game, which was arguably the best I've ever seen him play. Villa and Stoke were open games from two teams with terrible defences, so those are the games we expect Theo to do well in. But the Chelsea and Newcastle games were the ones where Theo struggled in. Newcastle put everyone behind the ball when then went down to ten men and Theo was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the match. I've already mentioned the Chelsea game which he didn't even get a shot in. Where were the chances in those games?
Those are exactly the type of matches people have been saying he'll struggle in. That's where the limitations of his overall game will show themselves up. If you're in a game like that and your striker can't receive the ball, doesn't have the skill to create a chance for himself and can't head the ball you might as well be playing with 10 men.
Penguin, we had Stoke pinned back inside their own box for the majority of the game. We had close to 70% of possession and kept the ball in their half. The accusation against Walcott playing up front is that we can't do that when he plays. The weekend proved otherwise. He has a lot to prove but if you watch the MOTD highlights, you'd see a couple of the runs Theo made and chances were in tight spaces.
Well, it's that simple for me - looks like a straight choice between Walcott and Giroud, and so far our best period of football has come with Walcott as CF. I'd like to see a bit more of it, and I think he's done enough to be given another try.
Not that I have anything against Giroud - it just feels like this is the way the team is leaning right now. It feels right for how we naturally want to play.
Part of me wants to see what Alexis could do as CF, but then part of me thinks that he's already getting 25+ from where he is, so will it really make that much of a difference for us if we move him? Besides, the manager and the player himself don't really seem up for it, so I think we're only looking at a backup option there, if the other two get injured and/or suspended.
Last edited by I am invisible; 15-09-2015 at 06:39 AM.
Won't acknowledge?!
We went round and round debating that point so much at the tail end of last season I got dizzy.
We didn't collapse, we simply took our foot off the gas when it was job done in terms of automatic CL qualification (beyond the '2nd place trophy' there is no difference between 2nd and 3rd), when we had a Cup Final to think about and only when the title was no longer possible. I was worried we'd relaxed too much, there was a general concern about losing momentum but we picked up on the last day and smashed the Cup Final. I have no complaints about how we finished last season. Had it been the difference between 1st and 2nd then I'd agree, but it wasn't. You're either champions or you're not.
The money cheat 'excuse' hasn't been laid bare. It clearly has made it harder for anyone else to win the league with those two inflating the market and buying up formidable squads, especially at a time when we were somewhat restricted in the transfer market by the stadium move. It is a fact that since the billionaires got going only Fergie has stopped either of them winning the title. IMO without those two billionaire cheat clubs we'd have won a title or two in the last decade. As much as I respect Wenger, he's no Fergie - Fergie was able to drag an inferior squad of players to the title by sheer willpower, Wenger isn't able to do that. He needs a properly good squad to win the league and I think right now he's pretty much got one. As soon as the financial deals were in place he started spending money and it has made a difference. I do agree we needed a proper striker and unless he can work his magic with Walcott that could cost us this year. Wenger would deserve criticism for that and he should be sacked if we don't start properly challenging but after the two FA Cups and a strong finish last year I think it's only fair to judge him at the end of the season, not after 5 games and certainly not after 1.
I agree about Wenger not changing by the way, but this is the same Wenger who won all those titles. I don't buy that he suddenly developed all the flaws you mention 10 years ago, they've always been there but have been masked by his strengths - spotting talent, developing a good squad and being way ahead of the game when it came to fitness and spotting talent from overseas before they were on anyone else's radar. He still has those strengths but others have caught up, probably overtaken us, when it comes to the fitness and talent spotting. He has lost an edge but he still has more positives than negatives IMO, you don't finish top 4 every year if you're as incompetent as some on here make out. And the two cup wins have shown he can still win us trophies - something even I had started to doubt. We do need to compete for the biggest prizes but I think we now have the squad to do so.
I've stated it repeatedly when others have accused Wenger of changing, so yes of course I realise it. And I agree we do need to start thinking beyond Wenger, he's not getting any younger.The game has changed, the manager hasn't. There lies the problem. You have actually stated it yourself, probably without realising.
But Wenger doesn't deserve all the criticism he gets on here, much less the disrespect. We repeatedly suck the cocks of here today, gone tomorrow players who kiss the badge one week and piss off the next when they get a 'better' offer elsewhere. Meanwhile Wenger who has done nothing but look out for the long term future of the club gets endless stick. Yes, he's paid well but that's because he's far more than just a football coach. He will leave us in fantastic shape financially and well placed to compete with anyone - if we get a competent replacement. I think some credit where it's due is reasonable.
IAnd again, you keep the argument confined to small pockets of activity for Theo to bolster the argument. Because he is injured so much that is the only way anyone can discuss Theo. You have framed this as a debate about his 'recent' contribution but if you actually read back, you'll find I've been talking about his career. It only became a recent discussion when you pulled out a top-line, superficial stat. For a player that has spent so much time out injured, I'm not sure how you can separate his injuries from the argument. It's a huge part of why his career has not progressed both in terms of development and continuing to be a functioning part of our squads. I said in the summer that Wenger wouldn't buy a striker as the Theo experiment was going to now move to this current position. He is a utterly replaceable player, one that fans will easily forget about when he does limp on. I've no fear of him going to a rival because no one has shown in interest in him, which is hardly surprising. The best rumour conjured up was Liverpool. Hardly a step up in his career. So I repeat again, he'll score some goals, get some assists, maybe even have anther good season but amongst all of that he'll break down, miss a lot of games and frustrate the life out of fans on and off the pitch. The years he should've spent working on his game have been spent glueing him back together and those are vital moments he'll never be able to get back, vital time that will always haunt him.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.
Last edited by Kano; 15-09-2015 at 08:09 AM.
ARSENE!We didn't collapse, we simply took our foot off the gas when it was job done in terms of automatic CL qualification (beyond the '2nd place trophy' there is no difference between 2nd and 3rd)
Is that you?
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...but after the two FA Cups and a strong finish last year
Fantastic WUMing. It's blatant but it's delivered so flawlessly it works.
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