Arsene Wenger says Theo Walcott is fit enough to start for Arsenal although he refused to be drawn on whether the winger would be including in his first XI for Sunday’s trip to Swansea.
The 25-year-old has played only 13 minutes of first team football since January but that didn’t stop Roy Hodgson from naming him in the England squad to face Slovenia and Scotland in the upcoming Interlull.
Speaking to press at London Colney this morning, the boss revealed:
“Walcott is in the squad [against Swansea]. He can start if I decide to start him.
“He needs playing time. Roy Hodgson is free to do what he wants.”
Given our plethora of attacking options, one winger who likely won’t be on the bench is Joel Campbell. The Costa Rican international has made only one start this season since returning to the club from a succession of loans and is reported to be unhappy at his lack of playing time.
Asked about Campbell’s current state of mind, Wenger continued: “I have a lot of respect for him and I hope he is happy every day he is here.”
Whether he’s here much longer remains to be seen. Given the nature of this week’s reports you suspect his agent is busy getting word out that he may well be available in January.
Oh well good news for once. We do need another goalscorer, seeing as we need at least 5 goals to be sure of a draw.
This is great news! Also, one of the best decisions I believe that Wenger made this season was to play Alexis centrally. With him in the centre and Walcott on the right, our attack looks so much more threatening.
I’d really love to see a front 4 of Poldi – Alexis – Welbeck – Theo with a Ramsey and Arteta sitting behind them…. sounds delicious already
Silver lining.
Walcott top speed record : 299 792 458 m/s
Walcott Walcott Walcott Wallcott
Sign da ting
Sign da ting
This song is no longer applicable. Walcott no longer has to sit on the bench, and, even if he did, Frimpong is not there to chat about dench. I’ll write to YouTube and ask them to update their records.
you might have missed that Walcott is negotiating yet another contract extension
I can’t believe I’m going to reply to this, but here we go… The comment I was replying to referenced a song. The song in question includes lyrics about Theo being “stuck on the bench” (which is no longer true – most people expect him to start as soon as he’s fully fit) and “listening to Frimpong chat about dench” (which is no longer true, because Frimpong doesn’t play for Arsenal any more). I was pointing out that we need a new song, with more up-to-date lyrics. I am fully aware that Theo is negotiating a contract. I was merely… Read more »
I miss Frimpong
A front 4 of
Walcott Alexis Chambo
Welbeck
Please.
That leaves us with only 2 recognised midfielders. Assuming one of them is Flamini (with Arteta out) and the other is Ramsey/Wilshere, that leaves us lacking someone to really play the throughballs. I’d much rather see Sanchez on the left, Welbeck in the centre, Walcott on the right and (while Ozil’s out) someone like Rosicky or Cazorla operating in the #10.
Alexis does EVERYTHING. Not that I’m encouraging it, but he does it anyway.
Might be wise not to give him 90 minutes against Swansea so he doesn’t get injured playing for England. A classic 60 or 70 minute substitute appearance will do it for me
especially with ox on form, but if he start instead of cazorla that’s ok, but i don’t seeing wenger going with that much offensive players on away game at good on form Swensea especially after we shipped 4 goals, so my prediction will be if we are leading by 2-3 golas he will get his chance at 70 minitues if we are leading by one goal like Sunderland game , wenger will try to lock the game , so he will get a chance to play for englad.
we shipped 3 goals, sorry for the typo
Shame about Campbell.
Love him on Fifa..best winger to cut inside and shoot with.
I like Campbell, give him more time on the pitch, Arsene. He puts in a shift defending too, more so than certain others (we know who they are). He is a good team player.
Welcome back Theo….
Robben is better m8
*Poldi reading this article*
“Thiz iz bad news for me right? This should be bad ne… Well fuck it!” #Aha
#BecauseI’mHappy
#Aha #Aha
He runs on the left.
He runs on the right.
Our Theo Walcott.
Makes Swansea look shite.
He’s gonna be vital for us this season!
Well as long as Roy doesn’t try to “test his resolve”, I’m cool with it.
Arsene obviously believes that Campbell isn’t as good as the players above him in the pecking order. This is probably true but I really feel like it would be disappointing to let him leave without fully testing his ability in a run of games
Guys calmez vous. The season is long plenty of competition and our injury record means the bench today is the St starter tomorrow. Campbell should understand that being on the bench still means being part of the team. I guess most players complaints about playing time just for personal gratification and self advertisement which is plain selfish IMHO. He will play a part this season if not then next season. He still gets his generous wage
What the boss says is “Walcott can start… he needs playing time.” Please note this, all you who are going to give Theo stick when he doesn’t score hat-tricks from the off. He’s likely to be little bit rusty, and may well need time to get the handbrake off and back to his best form and consistency. (I’m not just talking to so-called fans here, but also to the pundits and the media.) Give him the encouragement he deserves. Having said that, it was great just to see him on the pitch last weekend, and he was showing touches of… Read more »