Tag Archives: Theo Walcott

Freshness the key for Arsenal’s new boys

2 Replies

I am going to start by saying something a little bit controversial. A little bit OTT. A little bit extreme.

Francis Coquelin, Joel Campbell, Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi are not good enough to be regular starters for Arsenal.

Now before you spit your coffee out, start writing angry Tweets, or stop reading, please suppress your thoughts that I am stupid and read on. Listen to my rational. Understand the point of the blog.

I am not saying that they are poor players. Nor am I ignoring their contribution to Arsenal over the last 18 months or so. But let us be honest, they are not top players. They are not going to win you the league.

But they have all at some point over the last 18 months become fan favourites. Putting in some exceptional performances. Playing well. Cheered on by the fans with everything they do.

And that is where they have become important to the side. All 4 have bought a freshness to the squad that was lacking after a transfer policy which has seen us sign just 2 outfield senior players in 3 transfer windows.

The squad always needs to remain fresh. When staleness creeps in, it creates apathy in the terraces. Fans get on players backs more. They turn nasty as they become bored of seeing the same old errors.

Yesterday Theo Walcott came on. His first pass was misplaced. And the groans that followed were to be expected. I thought of this blog at that point.

Had it been Alex Iwobi miss placing that pass, it would not have got the reaction from the crowd that Walcott’s error did. As he is fresh. He has the backing of the fans.

Let’s start with Francis Coquelin.

He has become an important player in the side. In 18 months he has gone from Charlton loanee to potential future captain. Amazing progress. They should make a film about him.

But what Coquelin gave us 18 months ago was a freshness. Since 2013 we had been screaming out for a midfield enforcer. We went and signed Mathieu Flamini on a free. He screams a lot, he shouts a lot, he runs around a lot, but frankly, he is a poor player.

And Mikel Arteta. He did a job when he came to the club, but his lack of mobility had become frustrating for many. He has been past his sell by date for 2 years.

And then Coquelin broke through 18 months ago. He has performed well. But the biggest thing in his favour was that he was not Flamini or Arteta.

He could miss place passes like Flamini, or let players run away from him like Arteta. But he was not Flamini or Arteta. He showed what Arsenal had been missing since Flamini left on a free to AC Milan a few years earlier. A defensive midfielder who knew his role.

The rise of Coquelin just further highlights the error in judgement of not having a decent defensive midfielder. And personally, I believe we can improve further on Coquelin.

We then come to Joel Campbell. Get out whilst you can Joel seems to long away now. He is another who in a short period of time has become a fans favourite. Even though his actually contribution has been not much. 4 goals in 28 games this season.

But Joel Campbell has something in his favour. He is neither Theo Walcott or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

We had become bored of Theo Walcott going missing in games. Of Oxlade-Chamberlain running down a blind alley. It had become boring. It had become predictable. Campbell is not as good as either of these two players, and does not contribute too much more, but he is different to them, as fans are not yet bored of him.

Campbell runs down as many blind alleys as Oxlade-Chamberlain. He go’s missing for periods of the game like Walcott. But due to not being either of them, his efforts are applauded. Rather than a groan as the Ox gets tackled after trying to take on a 4th man rather than pass, Campbell is applauded for trying.

And over the years, how bored have we become of the ever so predictable Aaron Ramsey. The back heels. The miss placed passes. Even before Elneny’s recent game time, the likes of Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla were favoured by fans for bringing the freshness to the staleness of Aaron Ramsey.

Elneny is not as good as Ramsey. But he is fresh. As a fan, you accept his miss placed pass. Or the odd poor back heel. As he has not done it 100s of times previously in an Arsenal shirt.

Finally we come to Alex Iwobi. A breath of fresh air. 2 goals in his last 2 games. He is in the same bracket as Joel Campbell. His success if further exageratted due to not being Oxlade-Chamberlain or Theo Walcott.

Think about yesterday. He scored and he assisted. Many would have him as man of the match. Theo Walcott also scored (albeit a lesser important 4th goal rather than Iwobi’s 2nd). A Walcott goal gets less of an excitable reaction than an Iwobi one.

Iwobi is benefiting, like Coquelin, Elneny and Campbell before him due to being fresh.

Keeping the squad fresh is important. not just to stop training going stale, and keep everyone on their toes, but for the fans too.

The excitement that the fans generate when a new player is about to be substituted on is transmitted to the players. Seeing Iwobi or Campbell coming off the bench provides that excitment. Even Danny Welbeck coming in still does.

You compare that to the groans when the likes of Walcott or Giroud comes on. It is groans. Half hearted applauding. And people very quick to get on their back. Giroud had been on the pitch for 30 seconds yesterday when the bloke behind me was already on his back with his usual “You’re fat lazy and useless Giroud. Chase the ball”. Whilst it is unjustifiable abuse yesterday, it comes from weeks, months and years of apathy. Of seeing the same players making the same mistakes, putting in the same sort of tepid performances time and again.

A key part of our unbeaten season in 2004 was a January signing.

Arsenal spent £10.5m (then reported as £17m+) on a 20 year old Spaniard. Jose Antonio-Reyes.

I remember the excitement when he joined. The excitement in the crowd when he was warming up. The cheering blowing the roof of the old North Bank when he would come on.

Reyes was a breath of fresh air in 2004. Helped by his two goals against Chelsea to knock them out of the FA Cup, he became a key part of the unbeaten run, even if he did not actually contribute that much in his 13 league games (7 starts, 2 goals). Reyes was fresh, and enabled us to remain excited about the season, rather than things going stale.

And this is what Coquelin, Elneny, Iwobi & Campbell has provided recently. Bar Coquelin, none of them are better than the players they have replaced, but they are fresher than said players. The crowd give them a bit more time, allowing them to express themselves without that fear.

I remember many years ago when England were rubbish at cricket. In 2005 England had not won an Ashes series for 18 years. And then we went and won against Australia.

One of the key reasons often stated for the success of England that series is the lack of players who had Ashes experience. Only 5 of the 13 men who played had ever previously played against Australia. That meant that only 5 were mentally scarred from previous Ashes defeats. The 8 that had come into the squad were fresh. They were fearless. And England went on to win.

Teams need to be continually freshened up. Arsenal’s lack of transfer activity over the last 3 windows meant that the squad was stale. Everyone was bored of the mistakes from the likes of Giroud, Ramsey, Walcott & Flamini. There has been apathy a plenty.

Whilst I do not think Coquelin, Elneny, Campbell or Iwobi are top draw players, they are fresh players. And that is what is important.

To be successful, you need to keep things fresh.

Keenos

Theo Walcott left out in the cold

6 Replies

Theo, Theo Theo Walcott, his an Englishman at Arsenal.

For a long time, I have been a supporter of Theo Walcott. Maybe it is because I back the under dog. Maybe it is because I felt he often came in for some unfair criticism by other fans.

In 2012/13, he was brilliant, it was his breakthrough season. 21 goals in 43 games playing out wide. Yet still some criticised.

The last two seasons, he has been hampered by various injuries, causing him to play just 38 games. He still managed to scored 13 goals.

He seems to have regained some of his fitness this year, playing 20 out of Arsenal’s 32 games. But he has an issue. He has been poor.

Earlier in the season, when played upfront, he looked good. Sharp, quick, direct. It looked as if he was regaining that form of 2012/13. However, a slight injury took him out of the team. His return came in the middle of an injury crisis, which saw him moved to the left hand side.

The first game back was against Olympiacos. With Joel Campbell performing well on the right hand side, and being more natural on the right than left, a decision was clearly made to play the senior player out of position. In this case, Theo Walcott.

He finished the game with glowing praise. Drifting inside from the left at pace, he was electric. A danger.

Next up was Aston Villa. He cut inside Alan Hutton, breaking away at speed, forcing Hutton to bring him down for a penalty. He also played a key part in Arsenal’s second, drifting in from the left to put through Mesuit Ozil who in turn squared it to Aaron Ramsey to score.

Then came his peak moment. Playing against Manchester City. Cutting in and bending one into the top corner. It was Sanchez-esque. It was Pires -esque.

Since that City game, however, Walcott has disappointed. He ha snow gone 6 games without a goal or assist.

Whilst a 6 game barren run is by no means a disaster, just a dip in form, it is his own field attitude which has disappointed.

He has looked disinterested. Unmotivated. He has not bust a gut to get forward. Nor to get back. It is as if he is playing within himself. Struggling to get himself involved.

Now it could be that he is playing with a slight injury, so he is playing at 80% so as to not aggravate it further, and once other players return, we will see him disappear back to the treatment table.

His play has also become predictable. Against Stoke, it was always obvious what he was going to do. Get the ball, and try and cut in on his right. They handled him easily.

What is clear is that Theo Walcott on the left does not work. He is a square peg in a round hole.

Alongside Walcott’s dip in form on the left, Joel Campbell has looked tired at times on the right. Whilst he lasted 90 minutes against Stoke, he was puffing towards the end.

Luckily for Arsenal, players are starting to come back from injury. With Alexis Sanchez returning for Chelsea, he will return to his position on the left hand side. That will give Wenger a decision on the right, Walcott or Campbell.

Personally, he should go for Walcott. The better player. The senior pro. It will also ensure that we do not become too narrow.

Hopefully a return to the right this weekend sees Walcott return to form.

Keenos

Goodbye Theo Walcott

6 Replies

I say this with a heavy heart, but the relationship between Arsenal and Theo Walcott has run its course. It is time for both sides to part ways. Say goodbye. Au revior.

These thoughts have not come suddenly, they have been building up over the last few months. Walcott’s performance last night was the final nail in the coffin. Yes, he was playing out of position, but with just 14 touches of the ball in 54 minutes shows what many have been saying for some time. He plays on the periphery of games

Walcott arrived at Arsenal in January 2006 (alongside Emmanuel Adebayor & Abou Diaby). He was labelled as the next big thing. Just 15 and costing £5million, rising to £12million, later revised to £9.1million, hopes were high. He made his England debut before his Arsenal debut and went to the 2006 World Cup.

Throughout his early Arsenal career, he was heavily criticised by many, but I defended him, he was still a baby in football terms, he would come good.

Walcott has always suffered with confidence. At times he does not realise how good he is. Maybe it is the mental block of having two serious shoulder operations, or the damage done by early criticism, but he rarely seems to have used his pace to beat a player one on one throughout his career.

Confidence seemed to be gaining and, after hitting double figures for goals in consecutive season, he finally broke through as an important first team player in 2012-13 with 21 goals (just 5 less than Gareth Bale who than joined real Madrid for a World Record fee). It looked like Theo Walcott had finally arrived. He was still just 24.

Fast forward 2 years and we are now at a crossroad for Walcott.

18 months of injury meant that Walcott never built on that season, and with 18 months left to run on Walcott’s contract, Arsenal have a decision to make on his future.

Where as in January 2013, Theo Walcott had the power when it comes to negotiations, the tone around the club is very different this time round.

In 2013, Theo Walcott was the star. In the middle of a purple patch of scoring, he was Arsenal’s best player. Having lost Robin van Persie, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy & Cesc Fabregas over the previous 18 months, the club could not afford to lose another star, especially on a free transfer.

Walcott could name his price. Arsenal originally offered him a 5 and a half year deal at £75,000 a week. He ended up singing a 2 and a half year at £100,000 a week, seeing him through until 2016.

It seems that his advisor are now pushing for more. With Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both earning around the £140-150,000 a week mark, that is what Walcott’s advisors are aiming for. They still see him as one of the clubs gems. The problem is that is fiction. In reality, Walcott is a player on the wain.

Barely played in the last 18 months, he has struggled to get back in the Arsenal first team since his return. And his performances this year have mirrored that of his England performance last night. On the periphery. How can Walcott demand the same money as Ozil and Sanchez when he is clearly not in their class?

At the moment, he is not even on the same level as the likes of Santi Cazorla & Aaron Ramsey, players who earn a similar amount. He is not even alongside Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain and others, who are on around the £75,000 a week that Walcott was first offered 2 years ago.

Walcott is about to go rapidly downhill. Anyone who has followed football for any amount of time will know that players who rely on pure pace decline quickly in their late 20’s. Michael Owen and Fernando Torres are perfect examples of this. Of course, some players (Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry) add enough to their game that as their pace go’s, they can still operate at a high level, but Theo Walcott has not developed.

So where does this leave Walcott? I imagine Arsenal will offer him a contract. Arsene Wenger is loyal like that. But it will be a contract on Arsenal’s terms. The club will not want to offer him a long term contact on high wages. With his recent injury record, a 4 year deal on £140,000 a week (What Walcott is likely to want) will be crazy to offer. Tying up £30,000,000 over 4 years on player on his way down is just too much.

The best we should be offering Theo Walcott is the same contract as what he bullied us into agreeing in 2013. A 2 and a half year deal, £100,000 a week. That see’s him through to 2017. He will be 28 by then.

Personally, I feel this is even too much for him. It will still make him one of the highest paid players in the squad, whilst not being one of the best players in the squad.

It would be best for all parties if Theo Walcott was moved on. He could get a longer term contract elsewhere, and Arsenal would get a few million for him, which they could then re-invest in someone younger and better. There are plenty of options out there (more on this another day).

Theo Walcott. Your time at Arsenal is up. Arsenal are moving forward. You are moving backwards.

Goodbye Theo Walcott

Keenos