Arsenal fans love to argue. And if they're not arguing about Wenger and his transfer policy then they are debating whether Englishman Theo Walcott should start up front or not. And as an Arsenal fan and someone who has watched him for many years I can say with certainty that he should definitely not be the starting striker, and in this article I will explain my reasoning behind this.
Firstly he isn't striker material. There is no question that he is fast, lightning fast, but his finishing isn't up to standard. Despite scoring today against Stoke, it stood out to me that he had missed two good chances beforehand. And in the fixture before, away at Newcastle, he similarly spurned some clear cut chances. Furthermore he lacks the strength needed to hold up the ball or to be a presence in the box from set-pieces and crosses. Finally he isn't adaptable enough, if Arsenal aren't playing balls in behind the defence then he is useless. This was proved in the Community Shield against Chelsea where he was ineffective and played out of the game by a disciplined back line.
His speed and agility mean he is much more effective when played as a winger, where he can cut inside and score, as shown today by his goal against Stoke.
However at this point many Arsenal fans would say that he has 11 goals in his last 11 Premier League starts and surely that sort of record is good enough to be the first team striker. However when you delve a little deeper, you can see that this stat is misleading.
Now I'm not saying Walcott isn't a good player, he is. Indeed he is a useful weapon in the Arsenal squad especially from the bench where his quickness and incisive runs can cut apart a weary defence. However I am saying that he is not the great player that many think he is. Maybe this is a result of the price paid for him at such a young age and the potential that seemingly represented but nevertheless the idea that he is the answer to Arsenal's striker problem is simply ridiculous. I think in fact that Wenger knows this as he is reluctant to start Walcott upfront and hence he only does so to appease the fans in low-risk games.
Firstly he isn't striker material. There is no question that he is fast, lightning fast, but his finishing isn't up to standard. Despite scoring today against Stoke, it stood out to me that he had missed two good chances beforehand. And in the fixture before, away at Newcastle, he similarly spurned some clear cut chances. Furthermore he lacks the strength needed to hold up the ball or to be a presence in the box from set-pieces and crosses. Finally he isn't adaptable enough, if Arsenal aren't playing balls in behind the defence then he is useless. This was proved in the Community Shield against Chelsea where he was ineffective and played out of the game by a disciplined back line.
His speed and agility mean he is much more effective when played as a winger, where he can cut inside and score, as shown today by his goal against Stoke.
However at this point many Arsenal fans would say that he has 11 goals in his last 11 Premier League starts and surely that sort of record is good enough to be the first team striker. However when you delve a little deeper, you can see that this stat is misleading.
The first thing to take from this table is that he has only started 11 Premier League games in around 21 months, which shows a lack of consistency and an injury issue. Secondly most of his starts (bar four) are at home and all but two of the eleven were against teams that wouldn't be considered title contenders. Furthermore while he has scored 11 in 11, 7 of them came in just three matches, two of which were not "big" matches and the one that was ended in defeat. The one result that stands out in this table is the hat-trick against West Brom however it is crucial to note that this game was one that essentially meant nothing with 3rd place secured for Arsenal and West Brom safe in the Premier League.
Whilst he shows flashes of brilliance, I think a number of factors such as the expectation of not only Arsenal fans but the England fans as well has caused a sort of hysteria to build around Walcott when he rarely shines. A prime example of this for me is when he scored a hat-trick away at Croatia in 2008. As soon as this happened, a wave of excitement built and, while he didn't really build on it, for the next few years this hat-trick was used as a some sort of excuse when his ability was questioned or he underperformed. And even now, when a fan or pundit dares to question Theo, the Arsenal "faithful" will descend on social media with a barrage of fifa-fuelled, seemingly patriotic statements about his great "pace" and Thierry Henry like characteristics. The latter is a praise that he does not deserve. In fact it is counter-productive to compare him to Henry because he hasn't shown that ability and therefore the pressure that comparison brings is unwarranted.
Now I'm not saying Walcott isn't a good player, he is. Indeed he is a useful weapon in the Arsenal squad especially from the bench where his quickness and incisive runs can cut apart a weary defence. However I am saying that he is not the great player that many think he is. Maybe this is a result of the price paid for him at such a young age and the potential that seemingly represented but nevertheless the idea that he is the answer to Arsenal's striker problem is simply ridiculous. I think in fact that Wenger knows this as he is reluctant to start Walcott upfront and hence he only does so to appease the fans in low-risk games.
In summary, whilst Walcott may be able to produce on occasion, he lacks the consistency, strength, composure and natural positioning to be the first team forward, and no amount of "Theo" chants will change that.
Thanks for reading,
James
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