Theo Walcott

DERRY GOONER · Post by **DERRY GOONER** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:46 pm

theo has now been at arsenal 2 years. for the ist 5 months he didnt play at all which was understandable. this season and last he has started probably 15 -20 games (thats a guess) and came on prob 20 +. 2 me he still hasnt done it. he has 1 good game, and then 3 or 4 average games. he,ll play well when coming on for 20-30 mins, and make an assits here and there, but overall he hasnt produced what most arsenal fans thought he would. yes hes young, but quite a few of the arsenal crop were producing at an earlier age than theo. imo arsene, should loan theo out 2 a club like birmingham, or middlesbrough. he,d more than likely start most games, and through the middle were is best position is. he needs 2 build up his confidence, cause he just dosent look confident 2 me. he needs 2 score goals, and at clubs like those im sure he would. it couldnt do no harm, whats ure opinions??

RaM · Post by **RaM** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:52 pm

Bringing Theo to the World Cup was a mistake. Doing that thrust him in front of the public and maybe the expectation is weighing a bit on his shoulders. I think by lessening his involvement Wenger is hoping he can ease Walcott into the role.

Injury might also have played a part...any news on how he is after tonight?

Loaning him out might be an option, but I think I'd prefer to have him here.

thatgooner · Post by **thatgooner** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:55 pm

Theo is a class player and theres no doubt of that in my mind!
But he's afraid to shoot!
3 or 4 times tonight he should have let rip but didnt dare!!

Is that a sign of a lack in confidence? I think so.

burns718 · Post by **burns718** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:18 pm

i just dont think he is good enough, wether it be confidence or not. but to be honest if it is due to lack of confidence does tat mean he came to us without any he has prob an less good games than i could count on my fingures.
maybe a loan spell would do him good but he is a far cry away from the standard of football played in the championship which is where he mad his name to start with, perhaps the premier league is a steep to far, if not i certainly think arsenal is.
i hope he proves me wrong but i think hes another franny jeffers

Magic Hat · Post by **Magic Hat** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:28 am

He is a confidence player, when things are going well he flies down the wing and sets things up but when things are not going well for the team, he vanishes inside him. I think he has the ability, he is very good on the ball when confident but needs to become more consistent.

Doing very well for the U21's but if we do loan him out, we have to be careful that we hand him to the right manager

augie · Post by **augie** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:51 am

Judging by the way djouru played last night after his loan spell away then I would be against loaning him out. Having said that I do agree with most of the comments on this thread but am unsure as to the best way forward

donaldo · Post by **donaldo** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:52 am

If we dont loan Theo out how many starts will he get at Arsenal for the rest of the season? As has been said in earlier posts he needs confidence but he wont get it by sitting on bench.He needs to start matches.But it is obvious Wenger does not have enough faith in him prefering to play Eboue instead of Theo. At the moment his career is standing still.Its a shame because the boy has talent.When we signed him i thought Wenger could turn him into the new Henry.

Robsy · Post by **Robsy** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:28 am

I think Arsene can see something in Theo that very few of our players have and I reckon he's decided to coach Theo rather than let someone else at another club potentially ruin it. Theo has raw pace and is a thinker, he sometimes thinks too much and his pace takes him places he doesn't want to go, but when he'll eventually marry the two skills together he'll be fantastic.

Theo is still only 18 and since he's been at Arsenal his size/shape has changed a lot. He's not as small or as young as he was when we bought him.

He doesn't need to go on loan and I think everyone needs a little patience.

Cockerill's chin · Post by **Cockerill's chin** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:47 pm

I agree with Robsy. Theo has got plenty of raw talent, but doesn't appear comfortable on the pitch. I can't put my finger on it, he doesn't appear to be enjoying it and has a look of someone who thinks he doesn't belong.

I trust AW to fix it.

Number 5 · Post by **Number 5** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:15 pm

The main reason brought out by the club during the close season as to why we hadn't seen the best of Walcott so far was put down to the shoulder injury he had virtually all of last year, (apparantly if he even dared to go shoulder to shoulder with someone it would pop out of it's socket). Now how this would affect his generally standard of play I would be unsure, but I always get the feeling when he is one one one or trying to go past someone he is reluctant to go shoulder to shoulder or at least take a bump. It's a thing you see a lot with players who have wrecked their cruciate and are reluctant to go in for heavy tackles. If this is in the back of his mind while on the field it will naturally have an impact on his distribution etc as he will not be 100% focused on what's going on around him. I do agree that Wenger would rather keep him and aid his progression himself rather than farm him out on loan, but the boy needs games ultimatley. With a run of 10 games or so I'm sure we'd be seeing a different player.

Post by **REB** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:13 pm

i fear for theo, not sure that wenger trusts him to much but the stats do show that between starts and sub apps he has over 50games and only 4 goals,and that isnt good enough to be honest, i think its because he's english that he's not getting any flak, remember the shit that hleb got last season, theo gets none of that, i want him to be a star player for us but not convinced that wil happen

southampton gooner · Post by **southampton gooner** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:24 pm

Give the lad a break. He's 18yo and still learning. 3 weeks ago it was Eduardo who was never going to make it in english football. Have some faith in AW and give the lad some time.

gus ceasar is a legend · Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:38 pm

I truely believe and hpe that TW32 will make it at Arsenal!

It is clear to see that with a confident mind he will be some player!

How he gets that confidence is another thing altogether but if anyone can do the psychological stuff with a player its Wenger!

njac · Post by **njac** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:45 pm

I go along with the article which has been posted today ..I don't think Theo is actually good enough to make it at Arsenal. His decision making & football awareness isn't there ...look at the difference between him at his age & Cesc at 18/19 ...different class altogether

I thought that his goal at Cardiff was reminiscent of a young Michael Owen but injury curtailed his season and seeing whether that gave him confidence - then he got 2 in the CL & thought ok maybe he will step up but the more I see of him I just am not convinced he really has what it takes to make it into a 1st team undroppable player - maybe he needs next season out on loan at another premiership side to get more experience. I don't see Arsene will persevere just because he is English...I hope I am proved wrong but not convinced I am afraid !

Goonanana · Post by **Goonanana** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:24 am

He reminds me of when that tosser Ronaldo started in the prem, spent a lot of time running around, doing one or two men then either running into trouble or playing a shit final ball, took him almost two seasons lpaying week in week out before he learnt how to play the final ball and to play with confidence.

Agree the world cup thing was terrible. every time he sets foot ont he pitch he looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, always expected to beat someone and that he'll get told off if he shoots and misses when a pass was on - thank god henry isnt still here!

His confidence and football brain will come in time, I'd agree that perhaps a loan spell out of the spotlight might work well, could also toughen him up, somewhere like Boro would suit