Tag Archives: Arsenal

How does Theo Walcott rank amongst Arsenal GREATS?

The man of the moment. The phoenix from the flames. Lazarus himself. Theo James Walcott.

He is in a superb being of form. Much has been written about it. Many have apologised. Although Lily Allen has yet to apologise to him on behalf of the entire country. He is back to the form of 2012/13 when he scored 21 goals in 43 games. The same season Gareth Bale had his glorious season for that lot up the road, scoring 26 in 44.

Then it went down hill. 2 years of injury followed by last year where he looked done, shot. Over. RIP Theo Walcott. Sleep with the fishes.

And then we come to this season. He has already hit 7 goals in just 9 games. He has hit 5 league goals in each of the last 3 seasons. He already has 5 this season after the first 5 games. In fact, this is already his 4^th highest scoring Premier League campaign. And the clocks have not even gone back yet.

Over 2 years ago, I wrote a blog about Theo Walcott. Would people love Theo Walcott if he had red hair?

Whilst the title was in jest, the comparison between Freddie Ljungberg was clear and obvious. A nice little table I did at the time highlighted how close they are in terms of out put.

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Theo Walcott is just 7 goals off the century. 100 goals for Arsenal. He has currently scored 21 goals more than Freddie Ljungberg. He is just 6 short of Paul Merson (who frustratingly fell 1 short of being able to raise his bat to the pavilion).

So just how does Theo Walcott rank amongst the best and brightest of Arsenal goal scorers?

top-scorers

Walcott is currently Arsenal’s 20^th highest all time top scorer. Scoring more than the likes of Alan Sunderland (92), Robert Pires (84), Charlie George (49), Ljungberg (72), George Armstrong (68), Liam Brady (59), Charlie Nicholas (54) and Kevin Campbell (59).

But he has played sooooo many games you all moan. Here’s another pretty table:

goals-to-games

Out of the 47 players who have scored over 50 goals for The Arsenal, Theo Walcott is 33^rd on the list when it comes to games to goals.

The might seem lowly, but it does not take penalties, has rarely played as a striker, and his 1 goal every 3.8 games is still better than other wingers such as Merson (4.3) and Ljungberg (4.6).

So where does Theo Walcott rank?

The answer is a lot better than some would think. He is certainly not one of the worst players to have played in an Arsenal shirt that some make him out to be.

If he continues current form, there is no reason why he should not break into the Top 10 Arsenal goal scorers in the next 18 months. Could he possibly make Top 5? Potentially.

Enjoy Middlesbrough. It’s my first game in nearly a month due to circumstances within my control. Will be good to have a booze up in the usual haunts with my pals.

Have a good weekend.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Which Premier League side has the most exciting players at its disposal?

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Some people will say I have been a little obsessed with Liverpool this season. My constant pointing out that we are above them this weekend, despite according to the press them being the best side since a team of Allied prisoners of drew 4-4 with a German team in 1981.

My comments have been partly in jest, but also to point out the influence the media have on peoples opinions and the fact that brilliant Liverpool are behind Arsenal, and only a single point ahead of crisis club (according to the media) Chelsea.

Liverpool are massively overhyped, and I have no shame in continually pointing it out. Then a few days ago this was published: Premier League front-runners: Who has what it takes to finish top?

Within the pointless article created just to generate hits (which I have then increased by linking to it within this blog), was a comment about Liverpool:

Yes, you read that right, Jurgen Klopp, apparently, has the Premier League’s most exciting team at his disposal.

28 goals have been scored in Liverpool’s games this season. The league high. So on paper, with Liverpool 4^th, they must be lighting up the Premier League. But then 10 of those have been goals conceded by Liverpool. So it is not as much Liverpool playing exciting football, more that they are involved in exciting games due to an inability to defend.

This weeks 0-0 draw with Man U was the first time this season they had kept a clean sheet in the league. And 13 of the 18 goals they have scored this season have been in just 3 games. And in only 2 of the 8 games have they won by more than a single goal.

Moving on so I do not look too obsessed, the comments in the Mail about Liverpool got me thinking. Who actually does have the most exciting team in the Premier League.

Now to narrow it down, let’s look at the front 4, as essentially, that is where the magic happens:

Manchester City: Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling

Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi

Tottenham: Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Christian Ericksen

Liverpool: Firmino, Coutinho, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana

Chelsea: Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Willian, Oscar

Everton: Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Bolasie, Kevin Mirallas, Ross Barkley

Man U: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford

Starting at the top, Manchester City’s front 4, when fit, is electric. Pace, power and precision. Expensively assembled, there is not a weak link.

In Sanchez and Ozil, Arsenal have 2 players who can rival Aguero and de Bruyne in terms of ability and influence. Theo Walcott is in the form of his life and Alex Iwobi is the most exciting youngster in the Premier League.

Tottenham’s front four is a mixture of flicks, tricks and free kicks. Son is like a poor mans Sanchez. Like Liverpool, they have been described recently as the most exciting team in the Premier League, but with 13 scored and just 4 conceded, they are a side built on defending, not attacking.

As for Liverpool, it just screams out average. Firmino is a good player, but not where near as good as Aguero and Sanchez. Coutinho is the most overrated player in the league who scores the odd wonder goal, but does very little else in terms of output. Sadio Mane is streaky, and Lallana is average.

Diego Costa is currently the Premier League top scorer. Eden Hazard is still failing to hit the heights of a few years ago. And Willian is like Coutinho, scores a few wonder goals.

Everton’s front 4 is actually interesting. In Lukaku they have someone who really should be playing at a higher level. Bolaise is exciting to watch, but doesn’t score or assist many. Good for the highlights reel and Soccer AM crowd. I have always like Mirallas, and Ross Barkley is another one who will score the odd great goal, but is inconsistent.

On paper, Man U have a group of exciting players and exciting youth. By Ibrahimovic is past it and struggling with the pace of the Premier League, the most excitement Pogba has delivered this season is in his adverts and hair cuts, Martial is a talent, and Rashford is highly rated due to his passport (imagine if Iwobi was still English?).

So who has the most exciting players at their disposal in the Premier League? For me it is Manchester City. Hot on their tails Arsenal:

Manchester City
Arsenal
Chelsea
Everton
Liverpool
Man U
Spurs

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Calling out Rio Ferdinand

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So Rio Ferdinand has piped up over Arsenal players taking a “selfie” in the changing room after yesterdays victory over Ludogorets.

Firstly, taking into account Rio Ferdinand loves a selfie, you would think he would actually know what they are.

Ferdinand took the above in 2010, posting it too his Twitter account in support of his England teammates at the World Cup. He was out injured. England did not win the cup. Maybe he should have saved the selfies until the team had their hands on the trophy?

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Note the extending right arm, holding the camera, taking a picture of himself. That is a selfie.

Matchball for @MesutOzil1088 #ChampionsLeague #arsenal #afc #hattrick pic.twitter.com/uMZXL2NeuB

— Stuart MacFarlane (@Stuart_PhotoAFC) October 19, 2016

Now see the difference in the pictures. If, like Ferdinand, you are too dim to realise what a selfie is, The Arsenal one was not in fact a selfie.

selfie

The Arsenal picture was taken by Stuart MacFarlane. For those who do not know him, or follow him on Twitter, he is the Chief Photographer at Arsenal Football Club. It is his job to take the photos of players training, playing, signing and celebrating. He creates a historical documentation of Arsenal Football Club via the medium of photography.

So according to Rio Ferdinand, a photograph of a player who scored a hat trick, holding his match ball, surrounded by his team mates, should not happen?

Unsurprisingly Rio Ferdinand has forgotten what he previously said about selfies.

It is not a surprise that Ferdinand has forgotten something. After all, this is a man shamefully banned for 8 months for forgetting he had a drugs test, and going shopping instead.

Of course, I am sure Ferdinand is happy with selfies when he has a rubbish hat to sell.

hat

Or when he wants to show off that he is on a private plane.

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And nothing says rich than a selfie on the runway, next to the plane.

selfie-plane Or when the sponsors tell him to eat something.

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And of course, he has no regard for road safety. A selfie driving? Why not.

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And it seems for Ferdinand it is case of “What happens on tour stays on tour”

selfie-1

And he always seems to be trying to flog those hats.

selfie-5 And finally, who can forget Rio’s World Cup Wind-Ups, where, in the lead up to the 2006 World Cup, Ferdinand filmed a hidden camera Punk’d style show where he played pranks on fellow English team mates. After each prank, say those legendary words “You got merk’d!.”