Sometimes I think Arsenal players just talk too much sometimes. You know what I mean? Like on here when JustArsenal readers start saying things like ‘we’re going to beat Monaco by four goals’ or ‘Newcastle will never come back from four goals down’. You think to yourself “you really shouldn’t have said that….”.
Well that is what I’m thinking right now after seeing what Theo Walcott said today. We know he has a great scoring record against West Ham, and we know he is going to have chances to be a centre-forward this season, but just listen to what he said about Aaron Ramsey’s comments about him reaching 100 goals for Arsenal this season…..
“That’s my target, definitely,” he said. “It’s nice having somebody who believes in me like that and I believe in it as well.
“It’s achievable, definitely. I have to look after myself, train well, play well and we’ll see where it takes me. But I’m very confident.”
“I am aware of [my record against the Hammers] but I go into games as a forward wanting to create chances, wanting to help my team-mates and wanting to score goals,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing, along with doing your defensive duties. I think if you do that, you should be successful and should win.
“We know we’re going to score goals all the time. It’s just keeping clean sheets, which we’ve been doing very handsomely. That definitely bodes well for the new season ahead.”
Theo, you have been at Arsenal ten years. You have scored 76 goals in that time. Your best ever total was 21 – three seasons ago – and you have scored 13 in the two seasons since then. Please don’t get too cocky because we all know what happens afterwards…….
When you get cocky, you get sold! #HumblePie #WarChest
Am still searching for the fault in Walcott’s comment. Should he have stated that he isn’t aiming to get his 100th goal for Arsenal?
However, with him saying that, it will force him to live up to his words hence playing at his best.
He sounded confident yet humble, no problem with what he said, I see no arrogance there.
As for 13 in 2 seasons, lets be fair he probably only played half a season in that time.
13 in half a season sounds good to me considering game time is interrupted.
What makes Theo so confidence that he is going to be our first choice striker? Giroud will def be our first choice. Wenger might give Theo a run out against lower opposition but when it comes down to business it is going to be giroud
Thanks @ Jerick. I see no wrong in what Theo said. We want these guys to show a winning mentality and when they do, they are cocky? No. That is confidence speaking. There is absolutely no reason for any arsenal player to expect anything less than a win against westham. If we want to win the league, self belief is the first hurdle we have to scale.
Theo is the only arsenal player that i always feel can bail us out no matter which team we are facing…whether it is assisting or scoring or even killing-off a game, an injury free Theo Walcott will surely take us to greater heights these season BUT not with olivier as his main target. sorry new guys but the guy simply wont finish the assists as efficiently as a player of a higher level would. There is a reason that van persie picked out theo as the player who’se had most influence in his footballing life. Theo made him the killer he was through those speedy runs but sometimes good finishing is something one is born with a giroud doesn’t posses it. i hope wenger gives us the justice that we deserve because we have also been so patient with him also and that should be paid for
U must be smokin something pretty powerful to feel that ….
You mean you get a whopping great contract?
Does this mean Theo will start as cf against west ham?I hope not. We are far more dangerous with giroud as cf and Theo on rw
Everyone forgot how useless Theo was against Chelsea???! What’s wrong with you people!? Theo as a striker??? Why!??this will never work
Theo was not useless against Chelsea. The centre forwards in both teams were neutralized as expected. It was a very tactical game. Theo, Hazard and Remy were all marked out of that game. So are you saying Hazard is rubbish for being impotent against us? Theo gave the assist that won the game. I am sick of this Theo hatred. He is our most dangerous winger. So much for appreciation.
meh…let him be as long as he delivers hahaha
but yes, sometimes you just wish they even said nothing and then boom…i remember zizou when he ws a playeer..he never said nything, whereas Roberto carlos before that final was full of praises for himself and his team, he was so sure that I believed him…but zizou didnt hahaha
Exactly , less talkie talk and more doing the Walkie walk.
I know with the whole brand engagement, TV and media it is a relatively new and necessary thing in a culture of marketing, celebrity and no privacy. But…man..the stuff these guys say is often useless babbling and personally not what I am interested in. After all they are footballers (well some of them) and I support AFC and always have for what is done on the pitch and not on it.
Not that Theo is talking b@llocks
We will never win the bpl with Theo as our main cf. This is suicidal. We need a WC striker or just use giroud. Theo is not ur ideal striker. He lacks physical strength. He’s not a striker
Yes he can , thats confidence, nt overconfidence
1. If Theo is voicing his confidence does that somehow automatically mean he is “jinxed?” Is there a “jinx” book that outlines this kind of thing?
2. The last paragraph attacks Theo for not scoring enough during the season when Wenger had him often on the bench and not scoring enough last season when he was injured.
If you check RVP’s record at Arsenal you will find he also did not score many goals during the periods/seasons when he was injured. Sort of makes sense, does it not? If a player is not on the pitch, he will not score. Amazing. But none of that has anything to do with this season, now does it??
By 2009 (aged 26) RvP had 54 league goals to his name (in 8 seasons in PL and Eredivisie). Theo has 50 from RW. RvP’s whole career seems to have hinged on his one really good season for us aged 28. And without that season he wouldn’t have gone on to Man United to win a title for them.
actually van persie only moved to a central striker role after henry left before the 2007-08 season, so their stats are not too dissimilar from a wide postion
The best bet is to believe in yourself and your ability, I don’t think there is anything wrong with what’s TW said, he’s only setting a target for himself probably to boost his own moral toward the new season… Its high time we start out scoring teams in a single match
Did the writer just “jinx” Theo by offering an article about Theo possibly being “jinxed?”
I will go to the library and research this one in Tobin’s Big Book of Jinxes.
One of the targets I’d like to see during 2015/2016 is the best goal difference ever achieved in the era of the Emirates.
Keep clean sheets and start banging the goals in and then we can effectievly rotate and rest players by bringing them off early, (earlier than 70minutes!).
I want to see us go for the jugular of teams more often as per Lyon, (although they were poor I know).
#playingarsenalfearfactor.
I don’t think we’ll be seeing an end to our 70th minute substitutions. Arsene Wenger always waits to make changes around the 70th minute mark. It’s just a fact of life. How things work. It’s probably written in the Bible somewhere…
Wenger does his sub in the 70th minute because, in football anything can happen in a match be it injury or dismissal, and if he rushes his sub early on, and there’s an injury or dismissal in the game and we chasing the game with only 1 sub left… How will he do that? So he’s just considering a safer option because with over 70mins already played and having 3subs, you’re more than prepared for the worst.
And about Theo saying that, what did the admin expect him to say? “I don’t think I will be able to score a lot of goals this seaso, but if I score, well that’s good”. Is that what y’all want to hear? If there’s nothing to write on then don’t bother writing. I can’t remember the last time the team, manager and fans felt this way starting a new campaign… Call it whatever you want, I CALL IT CONFIDENCE, and that’s exactly what we need.
What do y’all think?
Wenger does his sub in the 70th minute because, in football anything can happen in a match be it injury or dismissal, and if he rushes his sub early on, and there’s an injury or dismissal in the game and we chasing the game with only 1 sub left… How will he do that? So he’s just considering a safer option because with over 70mins already played and having 3subs, you’re more than prepared for the worst.
And about Theo saying that, what did the admin expect him to say? “I don’t think I will be able to score a lot of goals this seaso, but if I score, well that’s good”. Is that what y’all want to hear? If there’s nothing to write on then don’t bother writing. I can’t remember the last time the team, manager and fans felt this way starting a new campaign… Call it whatever you want, I CALL IT CONFIDENCE, and that’s exactly what we need.
Opinions divided. What do y’all think?
i d put a De Niro tone and sign “jinxy cat where are you” (meet the parents).
As a striker setting yourself 24 goals in a season across all competitions isn’t a HUGE tally. He is being confident and giving himself something to aim towards. As you pointed out – his top tally was 21…playing from wide in a team half as talented as our current one. Theo is just being positive, nothing wrong with that.
U have to be kidding! Theo as our number one striker??? No way. I rather have giroud as our main cf
**** you Theo. thanks for ruining my season before it even began.
I’ll be in the desert until next season
I wish he would keep it to himself but to start being prolific at 26 is not a preposterous idea. Diego Costa will be 27 in a few months and until 2 years ago he had amassed 53 league goals in the prior 8 seasons but is now, or so people tell me, world class. This was as a central striker as well – not out on the right wing like Theo. Who knows what Theo will do or if he stays injury free. If he plays and stays fit I find it hard to imagine him not scoring at least 15.
Everything is possible. He may set the world alight and score for fun or he may be just ok up top. I personally would like to see him on the wing. BUT It’s Arsenes gamble!
#risky
I’d prefer him on the wing as well – he has the ability to be one of the most prolific wide forwards around, not sure why he wants to risk it all and take a punt on playing in a central role. In fairness he must have quite a lot of confidence by insisting on it and making it public – it is not as if he has anywhere to hide if/when he fails.
Maybe it’s the vision of the gaffer?
You know, position conversion, grooming (not in a kiddy way), stubborn belief!
The writer of this article must be a journalist a reporter or smtn lyk that…i hate media personalities they lyk twisting ur words!
Kotte, do you work in the media as your grasp of language is impeccable!?
The League is ours this Season.
Such that whoever finishes above Arsenal will Win the League.
I am that confident
#COYG
I’m still very wary of Man City and Man Utd.
All those signings will hugely bolster Man Utd’s squad. We struggled when we played them last season. We beat them in the FA Cup, but we didn’t really dominate that game. They beat us at the Emirates, we dominated that game and should of won, but they beat us nonetheless. We just managed a 1-1 draw away in the league with a last minute own goal in what was quite an awful performance from us.
As for Man City. They haven’t really strengthened their team for years now. But still, a team with Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and not least Sergio Aguero can never be written off. They beat us to 2nd place last season. That was a major disappointment for me. 2nd was in our hands for so long and we threw it away against lesser opposition in Swansea and Sunderland.
Careful now mate…..you don’t wanna ‘jinx’ arsenal cos from the article, confidence is synonymus to jinx these days. And from the way you sound, you may just curse us…….hehehehe
hahahahahahahahaha yah you probably right.
We need to clarify the whole “jinx” issue.
I believe its more like a target for Theo………Nothing wrong with that ….Everyone has Goals they want to achieve.
You are all Tllk Theo. Always the same babbling. Do the tllk in the pitch.
Harry Redknapp just said Arsenal will win the league. How times have changed. So many people are doing out and saying we’ll win it, it feels a little strange. We aren’t favourites but clearly we’re not seen as a long shot anymore, which is good.
I still think we’re a player or two short, but nonetheless this added hype is a good thing. It gives the team belief, which is of course something we’ve really lacked in recent years. What it also gives us is a bit more fear factor. We’ll be taken far more seriously this season. That’s something we’ve lacked as well.
Theo is not wrong to be enthusiastic in scoring many goals for Arsenal this season to reach the elites 100 gaol mark. But I am afraid, he has to wait for the Palace game before he can get another start. He started the Chelsea game at Wembley last Sunday. So, he has to allow Olivier Giroud to start in the West Ham game if he’s fit to play. This is in line with my advocacy for rotation of strikers at Arsenal this season. No striker should monopolize the striker’s start if the other strikers are fit and inform to play. But the Boss has the last say.
Jake Humphrey (BT Sport presenter):
A source who is rarely wrong tells me Arsenal are close to the signing that would make them genuine contenders. We shall see…
If we’re NOT in for Benzema after all, then this is going to be a big season for Danny Welbeck. Has all the potential to be a top striker – Just needs the experience and composure.
All goal scores have to have believe in themselves. Go on Theo I know you can do it.
the writer of this article should lookup the meaning of the word jinx .been rereading this article over and over again but i cant find any fault in it
Should look up the meaning of the word striker … The crap I read about the whippet on this site beggars belief …. The real problem is that he seems to be the excuse not to invest in quality attacking winger options like reus or griezman who are different level to walcott … Prefer to see ox on wing with giroud as cf and Sanchez cutting in from left …. But don’t think that can deliver titles so upgrade essential
You can all push the red button but I have put a bet on that he hits 28 this season and a bet on that we will retain the cup. Yeah you all think I’m mad but I think this season we will play ugly and kill games off. I would be happy if he parked 2 busses as long as we win
@jonestown, so ur comment about theo n r.v.p after 8 seasons and theo having more goals. That means what exactly??
Barring biased arsenal or for that matter biased I’d say English fans(national team) everyone else can see that the biggest difference btwn the pair is this, v.p regardless of how many goals he scored prior to 2009 had something Walcott never had or never will have that is Natural ability that eventually after his injuries propelled him to the world class level that everyone knew that he was going to achieve only his injuries were holding him back.
Now Walcott on the other hand is a bang average player at Best plz don’t kid yourself I don’t care if he gets another 100 goals he’s one dimensional all pace no brains simple as that.
Please don’t insult a world class player by comparing him to a bang average one, go ask one of or possibly the greatest domestic manager of all time (Fergie) about him he might just agree with me.
meh…Little boy wasnt classy (or world classy) when he went to ManUre
I didn’t make any comparison regarding their ability. But judging by the veneration of RvP you would have thought he had been knocking them in 25 league goals a season and single-handedly won us endless trophy. A very talented but injury-prone striker who gave us one brilliant season.
If Theo gets another 100 goals then I don’t care if he is the worst player who ever lived – seems bit of a daft comment to make.
The little boy could have been a legend and helped our coaching staff. Instead he left for one good season smart move.
Anyway , …. Any news on what Zlatans thinking of doing this season?
Confidence is a really good thing, that means knowing that you have the necessary knowledge, skill and competenc to accomplish something. But at the same time a confident person knows his limit,he set realistic goals and strives to achieve them.
What Theo have done wrong by making these positive statementsn I KNOW NOT!….. Pls don’t make me hate the author of this article…Please!!!!
@jonestown, oh the 8 seasons wasn’t a comparison then????
U keep believing mate
Reality will soon come bite u
V.p legend 🙂
No. no no no no…Rvp RiP after he trated us as he did…
I myself dislike when people talk in absolutes therefor just daring the result to go the other way. However, I don’t think this is such case. Theo is just sounding super confident and that is exactly what you want to hear from your striker. If he had of said his target will be reached Im sure of it well then he’d be putting the mockers on the whole thing. He said its his target and that’s ok with me.