I am not sure if the Arsenal and England international forward Theo Walcott is worried about getting his place back in the starting line-up for the Gunners, but the 25-year old is going to have to show Arsene Wenger some good form in training if he is to force his way into an Arsenal attacking line in good form and with good options already.
At the minute I expect Walcott and Wenger are focused solely on getting the speed merchant fit again after almost no competitive football for nearly a year. It was great news to hear that he did not need to undergo more surgery to fix that groin problem picked up with England in training about a month ago.
So it will probably be a careful introduction back into the first team for Theo, with maybe some games for the reserves and some sub appearances to start with, but the big problem facing the forward even when he is fit is the player currently playing in his usual position, Alexis Sanchez.
Barring injury (please no!) it is hard to see Wenger resting the Chile international. And with Giroud and Welbeck both doing well and fighting for the centre forward role, I cannot see the boss playing Theo through the middle either. Also, we already have Podolski struggling to get a start on the left despite his recent goals.
Apart from the little congestion around New Years Day and round 3 of the FA cup, our games are a week apart for a while. So is Walcott set for a frustrating spell when he is just a late replacement for Alexis?
Rotating players keeps everyone fresh, injury free and happy ………. Could we try this system even 4 once?
Eh, amigo, we don’t have to play an out of form player just becuz we wanna rotate.
Guys, join me plead with the Universe to favour is with a kind UCL draw.
Let us all go down on our knees and call upon the Universe now for grace and mercy.
We should rest OX.
Alexis and Santi can share the load of the role behind the striker.
Poldi and Danny should start at the wings.
We will be forced to play Chambers/Coquelin with Flamini.
COMPETITION is:
WaLcott vs Ox / campbell.
Sanchez vs PoLdi.
OziL vs CarzoLa.
Giroud vs WeLbeck.
Ramsey vs WiLshere.
Gibbs vs MonreaL.
Arteta vs FLamini.
Debuchy vs Chambers/ Bellerin.
Tho chambers may be called up at CB but Mertesacker and Koscielny doesn’t really have covers (excluding the boys from the BTeam). Well, i must be kidding since i ain’t the manager.
Off topic:
After liverpool get 8th and if sterling doesn’t sign a new contract i say we make a cheeky bid for him come summer. Cause that kid is quality and he would add depth and our attack would be quality.
Remember the last time we made a cheeky bid for a mugsmasher?
he’s a good player but first problem is where would he play? walcott chamberlain sanchez atm look like they would start ahead of him or at least share game time which for a 20 yr old would not be good for his development. Secondly he’s another player who is very short and I think we need to start making our team more physical and opt for taller players because set pieces are both terrible from attacking and defensive positions.
we need 2 first eleven and rotate them every game to keeep everyone fresh
I know the idea of rotation sounds great but in reality, there are some positions that one can’t rotate all the time. Example Metersacker and Kosielny are really solid together. They can only be rotated if it is absolutely necessary . It’s not about the lack of a good defender to rotate with. It’s a thing of combination . That’s why I keep saying, we can sign a good small ego center back to be back up but breaking up a combo in the middle of the season is suicidal.
A working strike partnership should also be kept as long as possible. Luckily at arsenal, that’s the easiest place to rotate.
The other crucial person would be a deep lying midfielder. At this point, we need one to take up arteta position next season, and deputies this season . The reason I say next season is . Arteta really understand the deep mid position . It’s notall about being a complete animal making heavy challenges and what not .It’s about positioning .honestly I see Flamini praised as a midfield hard man but I see him muscled off the ball more than Arteta .This is simply because, Arteta is more bent on distribution and interseption than tearing off the opposition’s calf muscles.
So from a personal point of view, in some positions we need a quick learner who is ready to take up the mantle starting next season.
Good analysis man
Not sure if u are aware of how oLd mertesacker or Koscienly is….. They are getting close to their 30’s ….the sooner we find younger dynamic backups for em both, the better we avoid finding ourselves in a repeated mess in the long term
Cahill 28 Terry 34. You think Mourinho thinks they are over the hill?
“…Arteta is more bent on distribution and interseption than tearing off the opposition’s calf muscles.” Funny but true. It’s not just about winning back the ball, but knowing how to use it after winning it. Most folks thing being a hard tackler is all there is to a DM, but a good DM should be good at distributing the ball too and that’s why I love Wanyama in particular.
@SoOpa AeoN.
Your analysis seems very logical.
Sanchez is actually the best we’ve got to play the LW position in our system. Same can be said of Walcott on the RW position. He provides the width needed and he’s the best (in the team) at running in behind.
Welbeck hasn’t been exceptionally good enough to displace Giroud in the CF position. In fact, a fit and fresh Giroud has more experience in the box. And in recent games, he has proven to be more deadly in the box.
In the end, when Walcott returns, I expect him to be in enough form required to reclaim the RW position.
Sanchez…… Giroud…………Walcott
@KickAssFan.
Have you seen this Lucas Silva dude? Kind of fits the profile. But he is still largely inexperienced and unproven. But his talents make him out to look like an Arteta/Mascherano hybrid. Maybe like a Xabi Alonso. I don’t know..
Heard it all before… going back to mvilla capoue.
Wenger will decide how, where and when to fit Walcott in. Hoping he will be available for the Liverpool game to add more value to an attack which, when settled can be a nightmare for most defences. Hoping we don’t boss the game, fail to score and set Liverpool off on a winning run like we did to ManUtd. Hope we also get a good ref also, as most of them make it difficult for us to win games.
It would be good to have players like Theo / Ozil / Arteta / Rambo back so they get into top form as we find out our CL fate today. I think Theo can fit in across the line (RW – ST – LW) and give healthy competition for those spots. Its not common for us to have all our players in one spot fit though, I will be happy to be proved wrong.
Hope we get a favorable CL draw, Lord anything but Bayern, am tired of us watching us play them now, a trip to France would be nice.
Just a thought…can anybody tell me for sure if Arsene or any if the Arsenal coaching staff ever read any of what is written on this Just Arsenal postings and comments? Coz i sometimes feel that some of the postings and comments are pretty good analysis of Arsenal game and strategies and if only these ideas can be given a thought by the coaching staff for their ‘team strategies and analysis meeting or discussions’, I believe it would help in improving our Arsenal team game. Afterall two heads is better than as the saying goes. And I’m seeing quite many good heads or brains here who are spending quite a bit of their precious ‘brain cpu’ thinking time to make all these analysis or comments.
Totally agree men.
Though there too many similar sites dedicated to Arsenal though I don’t seem to picture Wenger or his assistants going through them or appreciating our efforts considering the man doesn’t even take note of what people tell him up front.
In this modern era it would be good if we had more online forums where the players and the coach’s can regularly interact and exchange notes. Even if Wenger and his crew where part of our discussions here, we would be more clear on the teams objectives.
Its just a thought!!!
Imagine
In the business world, we can learn alot from the perceptions, ideas and views of the consumer. And it should not be any different here, since we are like loyal customers providing feedback on a brand that we love. So yes, good comment from you. BUT, while two heads might be better than one where the one doesn’t get paid to think, the other would not allow too many cooks from spoiling his broth however it is going to turn out also.
Yep, this is exactly the case in the business world where the feedback of the customers are very much valued. Yes also that too many cooks would spoil the broth, but we’re not talking like we are part of the management team and forcing them to follow us, just to take note of what is being discussed and suggested here, that’s all.
Funniest thing I’ve ever read.
As if Arsene Wenger or any of his staff are going to troll through the internet, taking on some of the suggestions by a load of random blokes. LOL.
On our ‘good day’ and with a fully fit squad, we can go toe to toe with any of the listed teams. We’ve done it b4 with Barca and Bayern but somehow, d refs just screw it up 4 us. Meanwhile on our ‘bad day’, we can lose to the weakest of teams. So, let’s just pray for a fully fit squad, and one or two signings (DM and CB) in January and gud officiating and Our darling Aaarsenal can make it to the quarter finals.
Best line up with fully fit team
Szczesny
Debuchy Koscielny. Chambers. Gibbs
Diaby
Cazorla. Ramsey
Alexis Walcott Ox
Subs: Giroud, Podolski, Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Wilshere ,Ozil