Arsene Wenger says that Theo Walcott does have a future at the club, despite his lack of involvement in recent weeks and months.
The 28 year old has not made the squad for the last couple of games, although that absence was explained by the fact he’s carrying a ‘small’ groin strain, and the manager was keeping the door open for him.
“Yes, of course,” said Wenger when asked if he thought Walcott’s future lay at the Emirates, before admitting he’d been a victim of the formation change which saw Arsenal go to a three at the back formation.
“He would have been in the squad at West Ham, but will not be available tomorrow as well.
“It’s not a bad one, he has a little chance to be available against West Ham [on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup].”
Despite scoring 19 goals last season, Walcott was basically marginalised after the shift to the back three, something the manager acknowledged.
“It takes one player out of midfield and up front, and there’s a lot of competition up front.
“It’s true that when we played with three at the back somebody in the middle or up front has moved out.
“There’s one less position available.”
It will be interesting to see if a return to the back four sees Walcott given more playing time.
“Oh yay!!!” – says no one. Bin him off please
no he doesn’t…
Yeah we should look to move Walcott on. Its now mid December and has he even featured in a Premier League game? Off the top of my head I genuinely cant remember him starting a single game. The amount of money he is sucking up on the payroll is mind blowing when you consider Maintland-Niles has played more first team minutes in one game, than Walcott has in the league all season. And I think that speaks volumes. We are literally paying £140K a week for a guy to sit on the bench and occasionally play in the Europa League… Read more »
come to think of it, wenger is simply spoiling walcot. he keeps saying walcot is important then never plays him, not that walcot is any good. But still if you are not playing him then might as well sell him the fuk off . Instead we keep playing him 140 euros to embarass himself every time he plays . We really will gain more playing some teenagers like nketia , willock etc. And walcot needs to man up and leave if he still have some dignity left
We will need Theo.
what for, to empty the bins
To score 19 goals.
He will make an excellent training ground dummy. Alternatively I’m sure he can run really fast to the local caff to get the bacon sarnies in.
of course he does, he,s a shit player, and we know how much you like shit players
I like shit players who score 19 goals.
I think you’ll find it was the fact that after 12 years of playing with remarkable forwards like Henry, Bergkamp, Ozil and Sanchez he still has no idea where to position hinself on the pitch in order not to be rendered invisible to the man on the ball which has led to his being left out.
The word ‘small’ should be in double quotations, no wait, tripple quotations “””small”””
There’s not a lot of competition up front, there’s Sanchez and Ozil who are out on there own, then there’s Lacazette, then Giroud and quite some way behind we have Welbeck, Walcott and Iwobi.
I’d play Walcott before Iwobi any day of the week because he scores goals
‘pends on the match for me, but I’ll tell you that even though I like Danny, I’d play either of them ahead of him right now. He’s just not effective. With the wingback formation the defending difference just isn’t big enough to warrant a guy who doesn’t score goals, sad to say.
I would put lacazette ahead of sanchez recently tbh
I agree. I wouldn’t move him in Jan for the sake of it. I would wait till the summer. Iwobi can’t score or create enough. Even with Theo faults in the back 4 if we stick to that formation we know he can be good occasionally starting but definitely coming off the bench in certain situations.
Problem is, Walcott doesn’t have a lot of skills with a ball at his feet. His talent is pace and finishing, not passing and playing off other teammates. If he could dribble and pass with more effectiveness he’d be playing way more often. But he can’t and that’s why Wenger keeps on giving Iwobi chances up front. I like Walcott and I’d like to see him play more (bringing him in against Liverpool so late was a waste, he should have come on in the 70th minute) but I don’t think it’s going to happen. He deserves a chance though… Read more »
Why do we consistently hang on to average players? Nelson could be getting minutes in his favored position if Walcott was sold.
For me the question is not Theo or not, but rather Theo (including his wages) or some else (either a replacement/upgrade a la Lemar, Draxler, or one of our young players a la Nelson, Maitland-Niles).
We are involved in 4 diff competitions at the moment. We have to rotate and keep everyone fresh. If 3-4-3 was the only formation left then Theo should retire but it is not. The manager will revert to back 4 at some stage and we can use him. You forget he scored 10 goals in PL last season and paid the price for his comments after Crystal Palace . Then the team had a good run with the cup win. But it wasn’t enough to secure top 4. He may leave at the end of the season.
He remains one of our few pace options out wide. With the back 4, the full backs are not as high up as when we play back 3 with wing backs. By the time they push up, often the other side is already entrenched in two lines of 5. Neither Ozil nor Alexis tend to go wide(the later use to but is more a custom now in pinching in field) Add Iwobi and jack to the mix, both central type players and its easy to see how a mediocre defense like West Ham were able to funnel us in to… Read more »
I think Walcott in last 20 minutes of a game if we don’t find the breakthrough will be devastating to tired legs. But we need to pick our moments better and maximise them. If we win the ball in defense of even when defending set pieces, we must use that as an advantage and an opportunity. We must work like a coiled spring. If we (Granit) can find Walcott quickly when we turn the ball over, he can absolutely rip the other side before they can organise. Given his current form in front of goal, he is a weapon worth… Read more »
I think we should give Theo a nice big pay rise and a 5 year contract because he’s such a bloody nice bloke!
Without thinking about the salary he is getting paid he is valuable rotational player in a formation that uses the back 4. His ability to score is a valuable asset on a club that doesn’t have many players that can in the first place. I wouldn’t want him to be a regular starter but as a guy coming off the bench in the last 20-30 min against a team chasing a goal he would be great on the counter with his pace and ability to score. The reality is that he gets paid to much to be a specialist in… Read more »
Make him our Ji-Young Song.
Only play him against the big teams that attack us and make space.
For other games, he doesn’t provide much.
I still don’t know why we can never see Laca+Giroud at the same time. I think a classic 4-4-2 would work a treat for us. Bellerin Mustafi Kos Nacho Iwobi Ramsey Xhaka Ozil Giroud Laca In possession it would be a 4-2-2-2 with Ozil and Iwobi both pushing up and inside. The width would come from the fullbacks getting forward. Xhaka sitting deep, Ramsey going box to box. And then Laca and Giroud linking up further forward with Laca running the channels. These are the kind of ideas we shoudl be trying against teams we can’t break down. I think… Read more »
Lately we can’t buy a goal and yet people on here are claiming we have no need for our second highest goalscorer last season? Wow