Theo Walcott says his current contract wrangle has nothing to do with money and that he wants to stay at the club to become ‘a legend’ like Thierry Henry.
Discussions with the England international have been going on for the best part of a year now, with Arsenal unwilling to match his wage demands and offering a new deal at £75,000 per week which has been rejected.
However, speaking today, Walcott said money was not the problem at all, declared one of the issues was his desire to play as a striker and said it was ‘about time’ he was given that chance.
“I’ve played on the right wing and had the opportunity to play up front a bit more so I think it’s about time.
“Playing up front is important. It’s one of the main factors for me. I signed as a striker. I’ve learnt my trade out on the wing. Hopefully, I’ll get to play up front in the next few games. It’s frustrating being on bench, but it’s one of those things I have to deal with.”
Quite how Arsene Wenger will react to being told by one of his players where he ought to be playing remains to be seen but the manager shows no signs of making it happen. In fact, he appears to have quite publicly given Walcott an answer by choosing the erratic Gervinho to play as a centre-forward and selecting Aaron Ramsey, a central midfielder, to play on the right hand side even when he is fit and available.
Will that change on the back of this declaration? It’s hard to imagine a manager as intransigent as Arsene Wenger will be swayed by a footballing issue being played out in public like this, while Walcott admits there’s nothing imminent in terms of an agreement and says his wages are not a factor.
“It’s not going to happen any time soon. That speculation on the money side of it has never been me. That’s not me. I’m not the sort of person who’s influenced by money.
“I always make my decisions based on football and only football. Hopefully something can be sorted out. I’ll just wait for the club to get back to us now and go from there.
“It’s one of those things that happens in the game. If it comes to it, if the club had to sell me, I’d be disappointed but, like I said, hopefully something can be sorted.”
I don’t think of any of us are so naive to think money isn’t the major issue and while he obviously does have a desire to play as a striker it’s a convenient problem to raise.
It seems it would take a large increase on Arsenal’s current offer, as well as footballing assurances from the manager he appears unwilling to give, to sort this one out and it doesn’t look as if that’s going to happen in the short term.
Stalemate. We use a player for a season, as and when we choose (and we might well need him at times) and then that is most likely that.
Kid obviously thinks he is a lot better than he actually is…..
I understand your statement but IMO would like to see him get a decent run upfront just to see…..you never know:-D
BUT ARSENE KNOWS…hehe
Walcott cannot hold up play (the way Arsenal need their centre forward to) to save his life!
How many times did he loose one on one with a keeper, his final Decision is always a suspect I say bring in chamak it January when we can hopefully get rid of Walcott and chamak and get a decent striker
He has always claimed to be a number 9, he has never shown it. He does nothing in the air, can’t play in a crowded box. The only time he shines is when he plays on the counter. Let him go, Ox can take the right wing and Ryo can work his way in next year. The out with old has worked nicely so far. Finish the job boss.
Thierry Henry was rubbish in the air also!!
Give his contract, he is better up front that that rogue satelitte dish we have there already, -namely Gervinho
Thierry is anything but rubbish in the air. Defenders and managers describe him as a subtle force in the air with a 6″2 physique to boot.
Case in point: Goal against Sunderland last season with Asharvin providing a peach of a cross.
Titi didn’t score many headers but he’s was/still is very good in the air , volleys and shit
@Goonerboy: Anyone who’s even remotely trying to compare Theo with Thierry must be mad. Next you’re gonna draw analogies between Bergkamp and Chamakh.
There is no doubt that Walcott is a better finisher than Gervinho. It’s strange – we have Gervinho the guy who can dribble but can’t finish playing as a striker & Walcott who can finish well but can’t dribble *skillfully* past people on the wing.
As poor as Gervinho’s finishing can be, he has shown he can link up well with other players, create space for himself, and make intelligent runs.
Can Walcott do these things? He hasn’t really shown it. I agree he should probably be given a chance, if only in cup games to start with.
Walcott doesn’t seem to realise that tactically, the footballing world has moved on. Being a fast runner who can finish is not quite enough. Note how Podolski, who is a proven striker, has been able to adapt his game to playing on the wing.
@Eurazian
To be fair to Walcott, you don’t get 11 assists last season by being poor in link up play. No doubt that football has changed but teams are punish when they play too narrow and I think Walcott is capable of exploiting that by running the channels and drifting out wide.
Teams will also go out of there way to change their system just to cope with Walcott’s pace, which essentially gives us an Ace in hand to play.
Agreed with Eurazian’s point on Gervinho who at least never stop running, trying and asking for ball throughout the game on Sun. I don’t think he’s finishing is as bad as the 2 chances he fluffed and feel it’s unfair for us to lambast and write-off a player just because of that 2 misses. Anyway, Theo’s finishing has to be much much better than the Gervinho’s misses last Sun for him to be considered as a CF. It’s not wrong for a player to discuss his best playing position privately with the club but not in the manner Theo is… Read more »
There is more to being a striker than finishing; Walcott gives the ball away/turns into trouble often enough on the wing. I expect he would be totally useless up front.
Kind of like when Carlos Vela played there, and just fell over every time he got the ball into feet. Sometimes we would get a free kick but most of the time we would just lose the ball.
@ Josh: What I mean is that linking up with others from the wing as Walcott does is different from doing it in the centre. Walcott’s assists are virtually all the same kind: race down the right and cross it in for the striker. And when it works it’s all good. But creating opportunities for others as a central striker is not the same thing. Gervinho has showed a bit more smarts in this respect, at least from my perspective; he’s got more of “a football brain” even if he doesn’t have a footballer’s shooting boots. One thing Theo needs… Read more »
His finishing is good, his.runs are reasonable but what else does.he have to.warrant a place as.a.CF? His link up play is ok but not great, he has no physical presence and cannot head the ball. In addition he has nothing extra in a crowded box as he cannot beat his man without space to run into. For me he is.a.decent winger, but as a.CF, no thank you!
Passing also average.
I would like to us play a 4132 formation. giroud podolski walcott gervinho afobe and campbell competing for the 2 up front. diaby wilshire ramsey chamberlain cazorla rosicky gnabry wellington miyaichi competing for the 3. with arteta coquelin frimpong thein in line to play the dm. iwould have sagna jenkinson and yennaris as my right backs gibbs santos and henderson my left backs with koscielny djourou mertesacker vermaelen miquel and one more for the centre backs. I am more than happy with the current stack of keepers. however i would probably sell fabianski along with squillaci eastmond denilson galindo watt… Read more »
Cool.. go back to your xbox now
That’s not even a good formation in FIFA but I’m sure you won loads of virtual titles!!
Would be sad to see him go though. Putting all these distractions aside, Walcott is a very potent weapon to have. Compared to other speedsters he is very determined on the pitch, works harder and is physically stronger.
So far he has maintain a degree of professionalism that, in my eyes, sets him apart from RvP statement. I will miss him if he goes.
It’s certainly nowhere near as bad as RvC’s statement but Theo’s still very clearly lining up to do the same thing. It’s the fact that Walcott and his team of advisors think that it’s so easy to manipulate the fans. If he were really trying to maintain a professional appearance he would have made this statement in Wenger’s office.
Professionalism in the way he publicly states he knows where he should be playing better than Wenger …. True he hasn’t spoken to the little boy inside him yet, but dictating to your manager in a newspaper is up there
I think guys are getting a little carried away here. His full statement wasn’t exactly published, and he went on to say that he loves the club, never said he wanted to leave and would love to eventually be considered a gunners legend. Now If I was a player at Arsenal I would want to be involved till the day I died. At the same time, just because I knew I would sign a new deal (and I knew the club knew this too), I wouldn’t just sign any old deal – I would still try and get at least… Read more »
he will be a winger till he gets the chance..under Wenger he will never get the chance
I hope he gets a chance. I have wanted to see that for years, but I can’t see him getting anything near Gerv’s 90+ pass completion rate
After his 2 against Cov and this bold statement, I would put him on the spot and start him up front against Chelski, with Pololski left and Ox right, and tell him go out and prove he’s worth it. And if he does the business and has the intelligence to play in this interchanging position football our team are playing right now (its sumptuous) give him the 90K, the stupid image rights. guarantees about playing, and a 5 year contract, as long as hes banging them in “like Thierry Henry”
This whole situation is a bit of a shame really. Wouldn’t mind him have the opportunity to play striker against Coventry.
If he does play up front and scores a few goals that’s going to put him in an even stronger negotiating position. In which case he’s gonna get an even bigger head.
Can’t see Arsene playing him up front until/unless he signs a new contract
Ryo will be back next season, with 2 years in the prem under his belt. Just saying..
Wonder whether Theo thinks he’s going to play striker if he moves on? Other teams are likely to play him on the wing. Or is he only asking Arsenal to guarantee he’s going to play centrally?
Isn’t that the priority, having someone upfront who scores and winning matches. Put it this way, if he plays well, sell to Man City 2 years down the road.
Look, these comments may be of some news to us but the manager has surely known that Theo wants to play CF for a long time and still he hasn’t put him there. So it ain’t happening against Coventry or anybody.
Theo and Wenger have mentioned this since he arrived. Theo has shown he can’t work inside at this level. Agent got in his head when he needs to listen to the man who gave him his chance. How many managers would have been as patient with him? Fergie would have sent him to Hull ages ago. I like the boy when we play sides that play football. When we play Sunderland…forget it.
Nonsense CharlieG. Like he has with Nani?
Rather play him upfront than Gervinho. If it doesn’t work out for Giroud we will be in trouble.
It will also help if we stop pissing away squad depth.
definitely would like to see him given a chance and prove himself in the position he was bought for. Hopefully he’s telling the truth about the money and if it works out hopefully he can push on in his development as a striker, sign the 75 grand deal and we can all move on.
If he wants to play as striker then why not he be given the role. Giroud aint hitting a barn door right and if walcott quickly adapts to the role then giroud will definetly up his game and start banging them left right and centre. Walcott will then proceed to his initial role of winger and he would have already signed a new deal! Wenger wins.
lets be fair we have known for a long time theo wants the cf position if arsene hasnt played him there its because he thinks theo isnt up to it. Period. All this complaining about positions is what na$ri did. The manager has the final say on what you do.
I like Theo and want him to stay, we need to stop selling our star men for once!
I like Theo, he’s a very good player on his day. But he is a not a star based on footballing ability alone.
I don’t think Theo can be classed as one of our star men, far too inconsistent in my opinion for that.
I don’t get the sceptism Blogs, he says its not about the money & Arsene has said the same thing but you seem convinced its all about the cash! I say give him a chance in the league cup and if he can’t do it against inferior opposition then he won’t have a leg to stand on! Theo is an asset & I hope we can get him to extend his contract! But to be fair, all Arsene has to tell him is he’ll play him as a striker, but a right sided striker with the extra responsibility of helping… Read more »
That is your opinion and i respect that, but even Messi thinks Walcott is class http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/805925/ce/uk/&cc=5739?ver=global . And just to have a guy in the squad with his speed is an valuable asset.
I was always of the thinking that Messi was being coy on his comments about Walcott. Speed is by no means the end all. Look at Per. Might as well sign Usain Bolt then.
Like they know about Alex Hleb?
Maybe his inconsistency is coming from frustration at always being played out of his favoured position? I know if that’s the case then it is very bad as it shows a bad attitude and stuborness but who knows, play him as centre forward a few times and see how he does. I think he has earned a chance after so long at the club. If he fails then sell him on and everyone wins,
While I half agree, he’s now played in that position for 5+ seasons and hasn’t improved massively. When you compare it to someone like Arteta who is playing in a different position but is working his ass off, he just doesn’t looklike he has got the drive to convince Arsene. If Walcott was a central defender and was being asked to play as a winger then you can say it’s not a natural position but he’s still up the top and being asked to do the things that strikers do (shoot, take on players, hold up the ball, etc…) but… Read more »
I do see Walcott trying every match, to say he doesn’t try is a massive injustice. The problem is that he hasn’t evolved and adapt his game like Arteta, Gibbs, Jenks and etc. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like he has grown vastly as a footballer this last 2 seasons but his improvements and performances so far does not put him in the wage range of 80k a week.
We Are not selling our star players the OX is about to sign a new contract we just getting rid of our speed boat, the staring wheel and breaks are faulty
Its hard not to read this as him saying “at the end of the season, it’s about time I fucked off”
I would love for him to be a lengend. Hell! If he can score more than 170 goals in 250 appearances for the team I support and love, why should I stop him.
You go for it Theo…. Just remember the legend bit comes when the goals come… Not before.
COYG!
Walcott has played 153 games & scored 27 goals so in order for him to get 170 goals he would have to play 964 games.
27 goals!?!?,
At least try to get your stats right if you’re trying to prove a point!!!
153 league games. 27 goals.
How’s that for a stat
In order to spoon feed my point to you Lee. If Walcott from now on scores in excess of 150 goals in his next 270 games, then I am going to be very happy… as for you….. maybe you should put your calculator down and show some real passion for The Arsenal, and not worry too much about statistical analysis. I will spend these precious days following my team up and down the country hoping that Theo or whoever else cares to step up will score 150 goals in their next 270 games. And I will be happy to refer… Read more »
I like Theo. I think he’s a good player and will only get better. I want him to stay.
But he has handled this contract situation in the worst possible way. You can see what he’s trying to achieve. He wants assurances that he’ll play in the middle before putting pen to paper. But these sort of things don’t just happen. Holding the club to ransom is not the way to go about doing that.
At this moment he comes across as TGSTEL version 2 to me. Still hope this saga has an happy ending, with Theo staying of course.
The Greatest Out of Position Striker That Ever Lived
heh
How has he handled this in the worst way possible? Since his statement that he hopes “it’ll all get sorted out”, he’s saying precisely fuck all about his contract.
He should have kept contract talks private imo. Going public to get what he wants is not a good move.
thats right bbc, he is trying to win the fans favour like Van Rapist did so that when he leaves he has an excuse to give us. He must think we are all mindless morons that will believe anything our players say, thats called being a Chelsea fan.
Of course he has handled it in the worst possible way – trying to force the Managers hand. For a supposed bright lad, did he not see what happened to his mate Van Persie when he tried that kind of stunt? I actually think he’s one of the best finishers we have. But I trust Wenger as he sees him in training every day, & if he was good enough to play up front in the style we play, he’d be in the team ahead of Gervinho. But he isn’t. So instead of using those wankers at the BBC to… Read more »
Wages NOT a factor? OK then, after seeing his interview I hope the club reduce whatever wages they are offering then promise to give him a shot at CF……….SORTED
Heh. nice
Unfortunately that’s poor reasoning on your part. Signing a new contract mostly comes with an improved paycheque so even you I or anyone else would be stupid to take the cf role and get lower pay.
surely an improved wage would only be offered if you had improved in your role at work & walcott has not done this.
Walcott hasn’t improved?
He certainly has!, not just how everyone would have wanted or expected. He’s not talented as the ox but he still has improved. You dont score 11 goals and provide 10 assists out of a piss poor performance like the ones he gave during the initial seasons.
Anyhoo, I was against the logic “that if you want to play in your preffered position you will go on and accept a paycut”…..ridiculous.
Who said anything about pay cut? Read my comment again mate. Anyway my main point was if he cares nothing about money then surely he won’t mind getting just slightly above what he is earning now.
We all know the main issue is money though.
Perhaps Walcott felt the need to explain his issues regarding the contract because supporters are saying its purely down to money.
Lee,Can we lose this Van Rapist shit too, in effect your saying you are prepared to overlook rape if someone is scoring goals for your club, that probably says more about you than it does van Persie. Don’t waste your energy calling him names, just ignore him and get on with supporting your club.
Could not have said it better myself
I think that if walcott was on gervinho’s chances yesterday he would scored two of them he is much better finisher than gervinho and if gervinho is getting chance to play as a striker why walcott not ? I think that he will play vs covnery as center forward we’ll see.
Question is would Theo have been in the position to get those chances?
The first one, definitely. There are few better at running in behind defenders than Theo.
As for the the others, well…
He would definitely be there for the Ramsey pass and he would at least make a decent strike to the goal.
To Casvcc: there’s only 1 way to find out, & I guess that’s what Theo’s asking for, a chance to prove he can do it, & honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he flourishes as a striker.
He’s hold up play has improved & he can finish.
Lets hope he gets the chance on Wednesday.
I don’t think he’ll ever come close to Thierry
Maybe not, but there’s a big enough gap between Thierry and, say, Francis Jeffers for a player to carve out a decent reputation as a forward wouldn’t you say?
Are you honestly claiming Francis ‘The Fox in the Box’ Jeffers wasn’t very good? Wash your mouth out with soap sir
There’s no problem with the ambition to be a legend like Thierry. Nothing against Theo, I like him, I just don’t think he’s good enough, but then neither are most players. Henry was special, like Bergkamp, a one off
Haha, spot on
Few (if any) would ever come close to Henry.
I hope he does. Maybe he drinks fairy dust or something.
I have always believed he would be a good striker. But they must have done this in training and Wenger knows.
Give him a shot against Coventry.
Can’t really slate him for that. I think he would have been given the chance long before now, but unlike in the early 2000s, Arsenal hasn’t really been in a position to be experimenting with players in critical positions like this what with the emergence of Chelsea and City as forces and the injuries that have fucked us for at least the last five seasons. Saying that, Theo should be given the chance if that’s where he feels he can be effective – he’s proven in the past that if he’s anywhere near in front of goal, he can finish… Read more »
Did anyone hear what he had to say about John Terry?…and no, disappointingly it didn’t start with the letter ‘C’!
Come on Theo, know your audience.
Theo himself said he CAN’T play as a lone striker so does that mean we change formation for him?
Theo has a point….at least try him in there in the Carling Cup and FA Cup, lets see if it works
If it works will he hold the club to ransom with a “im your best striker, pay me in diamonds”.??.
I honestly i’m not perturbed about all this. If he wants to play as striker and wenger still thinks otherwise then I’ll side with wenger.
Ox, wenger can tell you right now that he’s more of a midfielder in the foreseeable future but ask him about walcott and he wont tell you hoot.
Actually in a recent interview Wenger said and I quote:
‘They are a different style. I believe that Walcott is more of a striker-type and Oxlade-Chamberlain is a more midfielder-type.’
‘You could see Oxlade-Chamberlain developing into a central midfielder but you could never with Walcott. I see Walcott developing through the middle as a striker and Chamberlain maybe as a central midfielder.’
He doesn’t have a fucking point, players play and managers manage and if Wenger says he has to play right wing and he doesn’t like it…fuck off!
And when we loose because theo did not put his chances away who do we blame again for not winning any cup ?
His finishing is not consistent for me to make him a striker. Prove you can score goals from a wide position and then MAYBE…
Yes, because Thierry Henry was a flawless finishing machine when he arrived at the club…
What made Henry such a great goal scorer was the fact that he could go past defenders like they weren’t there, Theo just cant do that…
Neither could Henry, at first. He was capable of adding it to his game, however it took some time for him to learn it. As blogs says, this whole thing is at least a bit of a smokescreen on Walcott’s part, which makes the whole discussion about whether he could or could not be a central striker rather a moot one, but if you want to talk about whether he *could* do the job by comparing him to Henry, you have compare him to TH14 when he started playing in the centre, not the TH14 that we got after a… Read more »
TH14 started as a striker at Monaco and Wenger moved him out wide as he felt he would be better taking on full backs but Wenger always saw him as a striker first. When he moved to Juventus he was used as a winger and nothing else and obviously that didn’t work out due to the very defensive Italian game (just like Podolski at Bayern). Until recently, it was very difficult getting any change out of an Italian back four/five. When bought by Wenger, he moved him back to a striker and we all know how that ended. Now Wenger… Read more »
Did not take the king 4ever to adjust, if theo was good enough he would have showed it in training, if he can’t show it in training how can he show it in a real match
Thierry Henry had eyes at the back of his head and so did Dennis The Magician.
This Wednesday presents a perfect opportunity to give Theo a run out in CF.
If we don’t play him as a striker this Wednesday, do you think he has a valid point for his frustrations?
Giroud needs a run out too.
Honestly I’m scared of playing Giroud there at this point.
If he plays there and gets like 3 assists and 0 goals, the fucknut media are just going to pile more pressure onto him anyway
Giroud must face it right now… so I think Wenger will put him as a CF for Wednesday, and then Walcott for Chelsea, maybe. Or this Walcott statement is already a goodbye?!
He did.
No…i could probably play on Wednesday and knock in a couple against those no-hopers..what would that prove, it doesn’t mean he could do it week in week out against some of the best defenders in the world , we are not blessed with a multitude of strikers and if Arsene thought Theo could do it he would have tried it long before now…
Scared or not Giroud has to play…………he can’t be left out just because of what the media will say.
I’d like to be an Arsenal striker. I’ll do it for a tenner.
Off your knees Theo.
I’d like to be an Arsenal striker. I’ll pay Arsene a tenner.
I actually don’t have a problem with this. It’s his career, and he has always wanted to be a striker. He’s played in the right a lot, he’s been patient, and if it doesn’t look like he’s going to get the chance to play where he wants to play for arsenal, it’s fair enough him not signing. I’m not saying arsene should play him up front, if he was good enough he would have, but I understand him wanting to go somewhere else if he can’t play for arsenal in the position he wants.
Well said Matt!
Nothing against the lad, we all agree he’s not the best winger, & he probably knows that himself.
If another club is willing to play him up front and we won’t, then you cant blame him if he leaves & if its to a lesser club than Arsenal, then we can’t say it was for the money!!!
They’re all lesser clubs than Arsenal.
Quite right. it would be commendable for Theo to move to a lesser club, for less money, where he can enjoy his football more. I wouldn’t have a bad word to say about that.
If, however, he ends up speaking to Chelsea/City, he’ll be quickly shown up for the modern day footballer he is.
@matt: If he wants to go elsewhere, he should do it in such a way that the club gets appropriate fee for him, which is, obviously, not the case.
If he thinks he will be more successful elsewhere, ok, but mind you, not many had made it, some of them arguably better then theo.
Finally, suggesting the managar where he should play _in the public_ is nothing else than an intentional paving of the way out.
Also, why is he bitching about his position and making demands? Arteta is playing DM for the greater good. Theo should be happy to play anywhere for the team………..It sounds like his agent has found him a new club!
Problem is, Arteta is masterful at the position he’s been asked to play for the club, so much so that he’s a guaranteed starter.
Arteta is a different breed of footballer, not many of him out there, no point trying to compare walcott with arteta
He will do better than Gerbinho as a central striker, a weaker dribbler but faster and stronger and more accurate shots.
Just like RVP, hiding behind a football reason to get a big pay rise.
I would have no objections to trying him up front in the League Cup, but he is asking top whack for wages when he is still an apprentice.
It’s nothing like RvP. Jesus people.. Re-read the two statements and think about it!
If theo didn’t want to stay I hardly think he’d have worded things the way he has.
If he wanted to stay, he wouldn’t have said anything at all!
I see your point to an extent but for me coming out and saying ‘I want to stay’ indicates he wants to stay more than saying absolutely nothing…
No way he can play through the middle as a lone striker. Not big enough.
We aren’t going to go 442 just on the off chance that Walcott can play well in a position he has never played. Sheer fantasy.
Yeah Theo, of course its nothing about money. I am sure that initially, when your agents were courting Chelsea and Liverpool, it was because they offered you a role as their striker. Right now they are courting Man City coz they will bench Balotelli and Aguero to have you spearhead their attack.
Not about the money my muscular ass !!
I support you Theo,hope you can back it up up front.
if successful,we’ll have a interchangeable front three.
would like to see him get that chance but problem is WE WANT POINTS,
Theo Walcott? WE WANT POINTS,GOALS GET US POINTS
I hope i’m wrong but i just can’t see Theo making it as a striker at Arsenal. Sure he played there at southampton, but lets remember that was against second rate defenders. I don’t think Theo has a “football brain”, he would probably be ok when we are playing away to teams that are coming at us and defending high up the pitch, but when teams come to the Grove and defend on the 18 yard line he would struggle because he would not have the space to knock it past the defender and run onto it, and lets face… Read more »
Would Feo have scored if it was him instead of Gervinho, when he missed those 2 chances yesterday?
Depends if he was having a good day or not. Imo he’s a better finisher, so there’s a better chance he would have scored one, but that’s far from definite.
‘I don’t think of any of us are so naive to think money isn’t the major issue and while he obviously does have a desire to play as a striker it’s a convenient problem to raise.’ This is big brass letters. And equally going public with the matter at an FA event is hardly likely to resolve the impasse in any way. Bluntly – he either agrees something before December or come January 1st we see what Brendan Rogers is prepared to offer. If we are in a strong position League wise come January then that is an ideal time… Read more »
At Liverpool he could play with Suarez as a second striker… at least that Rogers can offer, although there is no club in the world who can sign a player for a single position. Even Messi is playing what is good for his club.
Lloris to liven up 5pur2 midfield?
And you assume Brendan Rodgers won’t be sacked by then? Heh. He’s got 4 more weeks.
Before they bring Dalglish back ? Or make an audacious bid for Tony Pulis ??
I hope Liverfool bring back Rafa or Dogleash.
The two Ronnies, hilarious.
Then they can sign Michael Owen too
It seems possible that they’re giving Gervinho a run out to see of they need to keep Theo. if it doesn’t work, then they offer him more money.
In my opinion we should waste no time in making Theo an offer to play as a central striker. I think that no person would be better for the job. I`m sure that in the end, if he leaves, we`ll all be pleased to say that Theo Walcott is a former player for the Arsenal.
I’ll bet you a week’s salary that when Theo willingly goes to Man City/Liverpool/Foreign Club on a free transfer he will happily play as a winger (while collecting his 100k a week).
Of course it’s about the money. Do footballers really think we’re as stupid as most of them are?
Theo is getting delusion. Theo doesn’t have the strength to play lone striker nor the ability to dribble past defenders. at best he could be a second striker behind someone like Giroud who can lay the ball for him. and at present Cazorla plays there who is much better technically than Theo ever would be. instead of shouting in the press,he should do more ho training to convince le prof sufficiently to put him there (CF,)
money isn’t the matter my arse
why did he think this was a good time to speak? “seriously theo,after your devastating cameo of the bench now’s the time to apply the pressure”-absolutely taking the piss.
I’m suer he stated somewhere that he cant be a lone striker? Also I dont think his movement is as good as Gervs so he wouldn’t get into the positions Gerv finds himself in.
Wow the sense of entitlement is incredulous from one so inconsistent.
Arsenal, ‘we’ll sell when we want’
Arsenal – we can sell everybody and still play good. Hm… sometimes truth is funny, and sometimes sad. I don’t want everybody to leave… who’s next? Sagna? and then? When it stops? At least for a season. Never? I was saying wait to see what rvp will do. And now we all know that he is a crazy for money. If he went to Real or Juventus I would say o.k. – this is his life but United?!!! Then Song left for the Barcelona’s bench. I think that Walcott likes money but also he stayed cos rvp left and TBSTEL… Read more »
I was hoping he’d stay because he has an innocent face and all that but now after this statement and knowing how wenger reacts to this sort of thing, goodbye theo.
Its been a pain and a pleasure watching you play(as is the case with any player, this is not a dig). All the best!
“an innocent face” since when did that come before ability ???
Since you started taking things too far.
Walcott’s actually a pretty good finisher id have no problems playing him in the middle, im sure he’d be more effective than Gervinho. Can’t blame him too much for wanting to play in his favourite position, even if Wenger isn’t ready to move him yet
Wouldn’t mind him playing CF against Coventry if need be, or being our second choice behind Giroud. If it doesn’t work, we can always let him go. He has spent 6 years on the wing after all
“In fact, he appears to have quite publicly given Walcott an answer by choosing the erratic Gervinho to play as a centre-forward and selecting Aaron Ramsey, a central midfielder, to play on the right hand side even when he is fit and available.” To be fair, Gervinho has worked a treat. We dominated the 1st half because of his movement, and City needed a rethink at half time to deal with him. Even if his finishing and final ball are a bit “erratic”, it’s more about the movement he offers and his ability to control the ball than anything else,… Read more »
its a tough one, if we were still in the 90s were everyone played two up top then he would suit a central role perfect next to a striker that could play him in. i just feel as wrenger does i think, that theo is just not suited to a loan role through the middle. sad but when it comes to holding the ball up with his back to goal and playing with the midfield intricate one twos then he comes up short, on the other hand playing him there, would push the opposition back 10 yards and he could… Read more »
I will say in theo’s favour, the only time I remember him playing up front for arsenal was in a CL game and he scored 2 goals. The thing is that we were playing 4-4-2 and Adebayor was alongside him. Not sure if he could do it regularly in our current system, and I really don’t think we could change the system to suit him.
I don’t buy into the idea of giving him a ‘run out’ to see how it goes. You can’t gamble with points that way. He has to earn the right initially on the training pitch. I have to assume he’s been given the opportunity in training and hasn’t been able to convince management he’s capable, either technically or with his positioning/decision making. His problem now is where does he go if it doesn’t work out. No leading club is likely to commit a striking role to him if they see that Arsenal are not prepared to even give him a… Read more »
Cup games, Coventry? Substitutions and tactical switches? If we are fortunate enough to be 3-0 up at half time have a pop.
Starting him in League games is a little risky.
Now sign the contract.
I personally think its about both money and striker role! That’s the reason why Arsene has decided to bench till he signs a contract!! Ask yourself, if it was about playing upfront the club would have gotten back to theo long time ago! No club wants to lose a player like theo on a free! So I think money is the driving factor here! Why would Arsene play GERVINHO upfront when he has Theo who can score goals??
Well if he can lean on the side and slot it in like he has been doing in the past then the striker role doesn’t seem abit too farfetched now does it.
We are the arsenal, we normally feed our striker with easy tap in goals.
Walcott I have no doubt will score but does ye have the stature, skill and strength to hold his own against defenders like kompany, rio, collocini? I doubt it. We’re still the gooners defying the odds Is what we do best and perhaps walcott can too!
Giroud wouldn’t mind one of those tap ins….
Sadly he didn’t convert his “tap in” chances. You know it, I know it every other guy knows it. (not trying to slate him)
If you go to BBC’s Walcott story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19707348
on the righthand side under “Related to this story” you can see a deja vu in the shape of a headlines from two previous articles about this saga and a proof that Walcott will leave us soon.
75 grand a week. Think about it for just a minute. 75 grand a fuckin week.
And he turned it down.
If this ain’t about money Ill eat my shoe.
75 grand a week. Think about it for just a minute. 75 grand a fuckin week.
And he turned it down.
If this ain’t about money I’ll eat my shoe.
Takes me 2 years to earn that, its fucking criminal that he turned it down and then said it’s not about money…
And I’ll also throw my fuckin new phone in the Thames for sending bastard posts twice.
I’ll always support Theo while he is in the Arsenal Red and White, but there should be no player power at this club and sure he might want to play central, but ultimately his agent wants him to recieve 100K plus in salary. He’s definitely not a 100K player but his agent will argue that his commercial value to the club makes Theo worth that money. I’ve always liked Theo but I’m sick of greedy agents/players and although his pace is hard to replace, AOC is ready to play more and I’m sure the Boss has some young speedster in… Read more »
is grooming the right word ??? just kidding…
gervinho and ramsey were in the squad ahead of theo because of their good form and also cos theo’s behaving like a dick
That’s all that has to be said.
Well said.
Dunno if I agree about Walcott being a great finisher. His final ball when playing wide has often left something to be desired.
While we may not have seen Walcott play centrally in matches, I’m sure Wenger has seen him play centrally many times in training. This is the same Wenger who took Henry who was a winger and pushed him to play centrally, the same Wenger who moved RVP into a center forward role. If he feels that Theo Walcott is not ready for that role, then there probably a good reason for that.