WALCOTT - which position is best etc?

[ThomasMitchell]

What was Theo supposed to do today with a complete lack of service from midfield?

Jesus some of you struggle to see the bigger picture! I am not saying Theo played great but Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta were dog shit and Giroud was fucking awful.

Give the guy a break!

Question. When has theo ever had two good games in a row plus was worse today then the players that you mentioned even giroud and he was shite, arteta and jack at least don't hide unlike our wonderboy theo

^This.

[QuartzGooner]

I have never understood why people question Theo's bottle or say he hides?

When wide right midfield he can only drop so far deep without leaving a huge gap for the opposition full back to run into.
When up front he has to stay fairly central and upfield otherwise we have no outlet, which has been a huge problem for us over the past few seasons when RvP did not play.

I totally understand why people question his quality, he has been inconsistent but has improved a lot over the last 18 months to a point where he is one of our main players.
But he gives his all.

Today most of the team were poor, I actually though Wilshere tried very hard but seemed tired, Podolski of course made a difference when he came on late.

Cazorla can get marked out of a game, and today he did, but he also looks shattered and needs a break.

[g88ner]

What was Theo supposed to do today with a complete lack of service from midfield?

Jesus some of you struggle to see the bigger picture! I am not saying Theo played great but Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta were dog shit and Giroud was fucking awful.

Give the guy a break!

It's interesting how you're very quick to say all the players around Theo were either "dog shit" or "fucking awful", yet you feel people need to give Theo a break.

Look, I think the lack of service Theo got is a valid point, but then again, I'd say that's also the problem with Theo - remove the service and he disappears from the game. I've said before that I feel Theo is a fair weather player who is rarely the cataylst and generally only plays well when those around him are clicking. Today, Southampton and Newcastle are prime examples of how he plays with and without good service.

And part of the problem I have with Theo as a lone striker is that too often he WILL be starved of service - and the question then is, how will he deal with that? - we've been blessed over the last 20 years or so with strikers who always seemed to make the difference regardless of the service they had; Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Van Persie. How many times did the 3 of them rescue us over the years? - I'm really not convinced Theo is capable of that. He'll be okay with good service, but will disappear when we need him most, and that's NOT the type of player we need leading the line for The Arsenal for the next few years.

I know that comes across as Theo bashing, but I like the lad and genuinely hope he proves me wrong and becomes a great striker... but I just don't see it happening any time soon, that's all. He's a great asset and I hope he stays... just not as our first choice lone striker. He's not ready. He may well suit 4-4-2 far better, but that's a moot point as Wenger won't play that way.

[Old Rosie]

What was Theo supposed to do today with a complete lack of service from midfield?

Jesus some of you struggle to see the bigger picture! I am not saying Theo played great but Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta were dog shit and Giroud was fucking awful.

Give the guy a break!

It's interesting how you're very quick to say all the players around Theo were either "dog shit" or "fucking awful", yet you feel people need to give Theo a break.

Look, I think the lack of service Theo got is a valid point, but then again, I'd say that's also the problem with Theo - remove the service and he disappears from the game. I've said before that I feel Theo is a fair weather player who is rarely the cataylst and generally only plays well when those around him are clicking. Today, Southampton and Newcastle are prime examples of how he plays with and without good service.

And part of the problem I have with Theo as a lone striker is that too often he WILL be starved of service - and the question then is, how will he deal with that? - we've been blessed over the last 20 years or so with strikers who always seemed to make the difference regardless of the service they had; Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Van Persie. How many times did the 3 of them rescue us over the years? - I'm really not convinced Theo is capable of that. He'll be okay with good service, but will disappear when we need him most, and that's NOT the type of player we need leading the line for The Arsenal for the next few years.

I know that comes across as Theo bashing, but I like the lad and genuinely hope he proves me wrong and becomes a great striker... but I just don't see it happening any time soon, that's all. He's a great asset and I hope he stays... just not as out first choice lone striker. He's not ready.

You seem to write quite a lot but don't really add anything to the conversation.

The midfield was dogshit today and Giroud was awful. A striker thrives on service and cannot be expected to win every game single handedly. You bring up Wright, Henry and Van Persie but all three of them had games where they were far more anonymous than Theo was today.

This is one of the issues, we have been blessed with world class strikers and we want to compare Theo with them straight away. I heard an interview with Ray Parlour recently who said that when Henry started upfront with Arsenal all the team thought they would never win a thing again as he looked like a fish out of water. They just couldn't see it for the first 8 or 9 games but then he came good.

With regards to Van Persie, sorry but we all only remember the last couple of years when he flourished, befoire that did he pull up any trees or win any games single handedly even though he was 26 or 27 years of age then and experienced? No!

Sorry but you cannot ask your lone striker to win games single handedly week in and week out. It is so easy to bash Theo when there are others who need to look at themselves.

Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere and Arteta were all pony today. No urgency, no creativity and the game was so slow because of this and they offered nothing going forward. Giroud was lazy and sluggish and won nothing for Walcott to feed off.

Theo didn't have the best of games but he offered so much more then those who have played in their preferred postions for a lot longer.

Oh and whats the for at the end of the first paragraph? Did you say something funny?

[augie]

That's telling you g88ner

For the record old rosie, Ramsey was far more evident today than Wally was and he was playing on the wing opposite feo so why do you defend Wally cos of the service and yet feel totally ok with bashing Ramsey and calling him dogshit ? It is easy to jump on a bandwagon and laud Wally cos of a few goals against teams of the calibre of reading, Wigan and the Geordies but why don't you look at his whole season and you will see a guy that has spent most of his career as no better than average. People talk about the goals he has scored but as somebody highlighted on here the other day, how many we're scored when the games were won or in last 15mins ? Only 2 of his goals were against teams in the top half of the table and 1 of those was in the 90th min of the scum game when the result was in the bag

[g88ner]

Fucking hell Rosie, what's with the attitude? - if I touched a nerve somehow, then it certainly wasn't intended. No need to get arsey, fella

I like Theo, I'm just not as convinced as you that he's the long term answer to our lone striker problem. I hope I'm wrong!

Oh, and sorry my post was too wordy. Thanks for pulling me up on it.

[p206ab]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... nited.html

[ThomasMitchell]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... nited.html

Another bad day for the Club...

[franksav63]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... nited.html

Another bad day for the Club...

This season just gets better and better.... I really thought we were rid of this overrated piece of gay clapping shit...

[ThomasMitchell]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... nited.html

Another bad day for the Club...

This season just gets better and better.... I really thought we were rid of this overrated piece of gay clapping shit...

Truth is no one else wants him. They know he puts in half a performance every ten games or so. But his signing will be held up by the Club as though we have secured Messi.

[Cockerill's chin]

When we have been beaten by teams far too frequently in the bottom half of the table I don't agree with any attempt to make those goals irrelevant. It was similar when Wenger tried to produce his top four minileague results when it suited him, even though we won nowt. Irrelevant and misdirection.

Points are points whoever they are against. Results against the likes of Norwich, Wigan and WBA over the years and many others should have taken away the arrogance of those who would dismiss performances against such teams.

Walcott has scored important goals for Arsenal. It is harsh after only 10-11 games playing time to dismiss his goals and assists. If after a season he had contributed nothing in the "big games" it may become a talking point. When he has only been given ten-11 games playing time then it seems harsh. He can only score who he is given the chance to play against and he has provided a good return.

The news coming out of the club is that he is about to sign. Once he has then the club have done its job and its up to Walcott to justify his stance and his bigger salary. He has put pressure on himself and he needs to consistently deliver.

[Wengerball]

Walcott is one of our best players- that's a fact

He wouldn't be good enough to start up front for the likes of Citeh or Manure and even a few years ago, he wouldn't make the first team for us.

Walcott is a symbol of how much we have fallen in my opinion, he is a player who performs at the all consuming top 4 standard. He has pace and lots of it but against organised defences he doesnt do the job.

[ThomasMitchell]

When we have been beaten by teams far too frequently in the bottom half of the table I don't agree with any attempt to make those goals irrelevant. It was similar when Wenger tried to produce his top four minileague results when it suited him, even though we won nowt. Irrelevant and misdirection.

Points are points whoever they are against. Results against the likes of Norwich, Wigan and WBA over the years and many others should have taken away the arrogance of those who would dismiss performances against such teams.

Walcott has scored important goals for Arsenal. It is harsh after only 10-11 games playing time to dismiss his goals and assists. If after a season he had contributed nothing in the "big games" it may become a talking point. When he has only been given ten-11 games playing time then it seems harsh. He can only score who he is given the chance to play against and he has provided a good return.

The news coming out of the club is that he is about to sign. Once he has then the club have done its job and its up to Walcott to justify his stance and his bigger salary. He has put pressure on himself and he needs to consistently deliver.

Sorry, I don't understand this point. Has he not played more than 10-11 games for us?
In terms of the Club doing its job - I would have said that were true if they finally started to pull the plug on these flakes that play for our Club, cream off huge money and contribute so little. But alas, the modern day Arsenal is all about rewarding mediocrity and failure.

[BournemouthRED]

I like Walcott, I really honestly hope he stays

[ThomasMitchell]

Walcott is one of our best players- that's a fact

He wouldn't be good enough to start up front for the likes of Citeh or Manure and even a few years ago, he wouldn't make the first team for us.

Walcott is a symbol of how much we have fallen in my opinion, he is a player who performs at the all consuming top 4 standard. He has pace and lots of it but against organised defences he doesnt do the job.

Totally correct.