Walcott confident he can ease Arsenal’s goal drought…IF he plays

The problems that Arsenal have been, somewhat unexpectedly, experiencing in front of goal has been highlighted this week by the slightly embarrassing goal of the month competition. With Olivier Giroud the only Arsenal player to have scored a goal in the four Premier League games so far, the Arsenal website has been forced to include the Community Shield winner against Chelsea scored by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, just to give the fans an option to choose from.

Giroud has not been at his best either and after Arsene Wenger failed to, or decided not to, sign any more forwards in the summer transfer window, Arsenal fans are hoping that the team can quickly put this scoring drought behind them and start banging in the goals again.

One of the players that might be able to do that is Theo Walcott. The England international has not had too much time on the pitch so far, with just three appearances and 120 minutes in which to impress. But all that time has been as the main centre forward rather than his more usual role of wide forward.

Walcott has not grabbed his chance to impress yet in these early games, but he did so at the end of last season and is confident that the goals will come, especially if the boss keeps playing him in the middle. He told the Arsenal website that even though he has not scored yet, he has been working hard and trying to use his pace and movement to help his team mates create chances. He also suggested that his job is quite different in the middle and that may be why it has not quite clicked for him up to now.

Theo said, “On the right you have to do a bit more defending.

“Obviously up front you need to do your part because it always starts from the front, but on the right you need to track your runner, you need to tuck in for your fellow midfielders and your full backs. There’s all these other jobs that you need to do.

“Up front you can do things by just movement. At times you’re not involved in the games but you are. Some people may think, ‘Oh he hasn’t touched the ball for 15 minutes’ but you’re moving all the time, taking players and creating space for team-mates.

“That’s what strikers need to do at times, not just to always come for the ball and lay it off. You need to stretch teams, which will give our midfielders more space, more opportunities and more goals. That’s what you want in the team.

“I think you’ll see a mixture of me playing in those three positions, on the left, right and centre, depending on how the game is and who the opposition is. That’s why the manager is the best man to pick his team. I’ve shown the manager what I can do on the left, right and centre.

“It’s obviously well documented that I want to play up front but there’s a lot of competition for places here. I will do my best in any position when I am given the opportunity to play for this club. I will always be judged on goals and assists but I feel like I would score a lot of goals up front.”

What do you think Gooners? Should Wenger keep playing Walcott in the middle and hope that he starts to score regularly? Should he put the flying forward back on the flanks? And should he keep using him as an impact sub or play him from the start?

Tags Giroud Wenger

55 Comments

  1. As CF or Winger Walcott will score soon…Players will find their from soon…Even Kane, Hazard, Rooney, Benteke, Sanchez and Aguero haven’t found form as yet in the PL..

    1. The problem with walcott playing a centre forward is not hold up play, Its the lack of faith in him by other team mates. If you observe the match against newcastle carefully, He kept on coming to receive the ball, and for some reason, the midfielders were reluctant to pass him the ball. When he comes to collect the ball, he creates the space in behind by making runs. The players around him should trust him and give him the ball more often as they give to giroud as they think that he will hold the ball up. Walcott won’t hold the ball up, he will pass it back to the player, which creates space. He only touched the ball 14 times in the newcastle game. Start trusting him, he will deliver. The only chance created by him came as a result of collecting the ball from the midfielder and running in behind. He is a clever footballer at creating the space. Arsenal should use it in a better way…

      1. The real problem is … Most of our player’s Talk too much!
        Without backing up their words!

        We all know what Walcott is capable of but against Newcastle the less said the better!

        Someone needs to tell them to Shut up and let their feet do the talking!

    2. Obviously he will score, difference being Theo requiresthe ccircumstances to be just right and the stars to align for him to be at all effective. In the 120 mins he’s played this season he’s been the usual ineffective passenger many of us know him to be 90% of the time.

      Sure, he’ll score some, who wouldn’t as a ST for Arsenal? But all this talk he continues to do is tiresome to say the least, wish Wenger had the balls to challenge him when he was making demands about his contract. Guy needs to be told he’s not a ST and to work at being the best RW he can. 26 years old, 10 years at the club, and he doesn’t have a first team place or best position…..yet talks like he’s about to fire us to the title. Wenger blows so much smoke up these guys arises.

    3. Obviously he will score, difference being Theo requiresthe ccircumstances to be just right and the stars to align for him to be at all effective. In the 120 mins he’s played this season he’s been the usual ineffective passenger many of us know him to be 90% of the time.

      Sure, he’ll score some, who wouldn’t as a ST for Arsenal? But all this talk he continues to do is tiresome to say the least, wish Wenger had the balls to challenge him when he was making demands about his contract. Guy needs to be told he’s not a ST and to work at being the best RW he can. 26 years old, 10 years at the club, and he doesn’t have a first team place or best position…..yet talks like he’s about to fire us to the title. Wenger blows so much smoke up these guys arses.

  2. Sanogo and Akpom on loan
    Wellbeck injured till December.
    Giroud and Campbell
    the other 2 strikers.
    Walcott should get a lot of game time.
    Rht wing or CF it doesn’t matter.
    IMO the greatest problem Walcott faces remains injuries.

    1. Reading your thoughts on Theo if he had a decent passer of the ball like Ozil against Newcastle he would have scored. You all seem to be experts on strikers lets face it even if Arsenal had bought a striker he would have to get used to our play.Theo needs game time give him a break I’m sure most of you are just like old women gossiping about while your knitting grows and grows. Put your big boy pants on and grow up,or go find another club to winge about. CB

    1. The OX is a better player,Walcott doesn’t have a football brain in all his years at Arsenal he still plays as if he’s 16years old an overhyped english player who no other big team will take

    2. Has Hazard ever scored 22 goals with 14 assists in a season ? Stfu and go support Chelsea if dribbling sideways and scoring penalties are worth more than finishing and creating chances

  3. No matter how confident our players are this season, any bad moment such as being cocky, selfish , over confidence, slip up , complacency or an injury to a key player in a key position where there are no key back ups will break that confidence……CONFIDENCE IS LIKE A PACK OF CARDS

  4. No more experiments buddy noting we are 5pts adrift…donkey Giroud is the best CF we currently have and it stops there!!!don’t know some of our fans have bn watching which arsenal? Ramsey shd have a role at the mid or warm the bench and maybe walcott can then step in at the right wing(just maybe). Noting that stoke will be our nxt epl game then i wonder how and why walcott shd even feature anywhere. Walcott cannot dribble,can’t defend and can’t even control the easiest of balls,the only quality he has is speed.wld prefer welbeck on any day when he is well.

  5. Former arsenal mildfielder Paul Merson told Sky Sports
    “If you’re an Arsenal season ticket holder, you’re paying top dollar,” Merson toldSky Sports.
    “It’s their money. It’s the fans’ money. It’s not Arsene Wenger’s money. It’s not the club’s money. It’s the fans’ money that they’ve paid to buy players.
    “The whole idea of going to this big stadium that holds 60,000 people was to bring in top quality players. I don’t know [why Arsenal aren’t spending the money].
    “Just put in a bid for Benzema. £75 million. If Real Madrid turn around and say: ‘We’re not selling him,’ you can’t argue with that. You’ve put in a bid and if they turn it down or the lad doesn’t want to come, that’s the way it goes. But show something.
    “It cheats the fans. The fans think ‘what are we coming for? We turn up every week, we pay the highest prices and what for? Top four? We might get a day out at Wembley again in the FA Cup. Wow-wee.”
    And Merson poured scorn on the belief that Arsenal will improve on last season’s finish and mount a title challenge.
    “There’s a saying in life: Keep on doing the things you do and you’ll get the same results,” he added.
    “How different is this season going to be for Arsenal? It’s the same team that finished 12 points behind Chelsea last year. Why, this year, will the team finish above Chelsea?
    “I can tell you now, there will be a phase this season when they’ll be unbelievable, win seven on the trot and play the best football you’ve ever seen. But at the end of the season, with this team and no signings, I’d be absolutely shocked if they won the Premier League.”

    1. Well….. spending 50m is a gamble, trusting your players is also a gamble. Only the second gamble is closer to the spirit of the game ( a manager trusting, showing faith to his players) while the first one is the method of a circus club. Either way a gamble has been taken and its the gamble that does not leave you 50m in the red. Time will tell. Keep the head up.

              1. @krish it’s u and Budd who needs therapy on a routine basis…maybe 11yrs of mental depression is taking a toll on some of u to an extend u no longer know what is best for the club!

            1. You see? There is the problem : in any relation TRUST and not MATERIAL should be the driver and the catalyst. If you have to spend to keep your relation(s) then I am really, really sorry for you. But hey, who am I to judge.

              1. Yeh, yeh Budd.

                And there is you a supporter of a football club (dope for the masses) practicing zen mindfulness and denouncing all material possessions and attachment!

                #preachOn
                #everythingIsVoid

              2. we are talking about the fact that to compete as a business (sell the brand, COMPETE WITH YOUR COMPETITORS, and to please your customers) it is imperative that you INVEST. Anyone arguing differently is far removed from the reality of things.

                Work on cohesion, yes. Perhaps develop a system that enables intuitive and flowing play, (would be nice), but you have to invest or you stand still.

                1. And where do you see this lack of investment? Ah, I get it! You don’t agree with the investments made by AFC this year. Fair point. But then is worth saying that it is your opinion and then secondly, you are not a decision factor at the Emirates. Sorry to say, but this is how it works. I may not agree either but I don’t go and call for supporters to boycott sales and chout against the manager and the board. This is not helping your team.

    2. OK, so first I am an AKB. Then a spud. What’s next?
      PS: nice to see admin keeping his word in cleaning this sorry site from people insulting the others. Keep up the good work bob

      1. Replying here Sbud!:) (couldn’t resist) as I didn’t see the option to reply above.

        Dependent on the results this year I would back the idea of people letting their voices be heard if they disapprove of what is happening. If this unsettles the board, manager and even team if it’s been a pile of shite anyway what have we ruined.

        There is supporting the club in the short term (let’s get a result today) and support for the club in the longer term (where are we heading/should things change?). I am personally for the longer term and success on the field and not just as a brand. In fact if they were smarter they would realise bigger stars mean greater exposure and merchandise sales.

        Bloody hell, the Arsenal supporters trust have asked for an enquiry on the transfer/scouting situation and have said themselves that questions need to be raised and assurances need to made in relation to the clubs ambitions.

        1. And I am all for this investigation! It is the only way in knowing the truth.
          PS: you can reply under the last post showing you the Reply link. It will put your post under the last one.

      2. I see no insult in being called either an AKB or an AOB (If I did we would have no comments!) But calling you a Spud is unforgivable and the comment has been deleted….

  6. @jeez spot on mate..imagine shitty fans pay less ticket prices to watch their team thrash the epl holders chelshit by 3 goals to nil while arsenal fans pay the highest to watch the HAMMERS run riot againt us at our own stadium and to score only 1 goal in a wooping 360+ minutes.we must be the most irresponsible fans anywhere!!!

    1. The table says 3 goals against 4 goals conceded. 7 points collected. Yes, we could have had 12. But so does Chelsea and United. You’re not very accurate in your reporting, you know that.

  7. Last year Walcott was injured till December and this year its welbeck. So in that way the squad is same but Bellerín coquelin and Gabriel only came to d front after December so to have them from the start this time is the only plus point going into this season.
    We have the players to win the league but we can not lose points like we already did against west ham and Liverpool.

  8. I think too much money is being spent on football. It’s really ridiculous when i think about how many years I will have to work as an engineer to earn what Walcott earns in a week. And he’s not even that good.

    1. But that’s the game, like it or not (which I don’t). It’s been that way for many years now.

      But you have to invest to try to compete it’s as simple as that.

      1. Its actually us indirectly investing that kind of ridiculous money into football teams simply because we like to keep ourselves engaged and want good entertainment each week. If football fans around the globe stop buying football kits, stop attending matches and even stop watching it on tv football will come to an end. Well, its an obvious thing but I still said it.

        1. Of course. But that’s a whole different political/social discussion. A deep rabbit hole with a can of worms at the bottom.

          But we are talking about the fact that to compete as a business (sell the brand, COMPETE WITH YOUR COMPETITORS, and to please your customers) it is imperative that you INVEST. Anyone arguing differently is far removed from the reality of things.

  9. Arsene Wenger, Stan Kroenke and Ivan Gazidis are a cancer to Arsenal FC.Anyone who hasn’t realized it yet is equally culpable.

  10. I admire your optimism,but you realize it’s only a matter of time b4 walcott or ox picks up an injury and soon we’ll be playing Gibbs as a winger.Imagine going to play bayern away with teenagers on the bench. I think we’re in for more embarrassing scorelines this season , but am prepared for the same.You should also be ready for the usual dissapointed my friend.

      1. Damn that lad was calm as cucumber on his debut against Wolfsburg. Still not sure what his postition is? CAM, winger, CM?

        1. Both. I think we have a gem in our hands here. I do hope Wenger does with him exactly what he did with Wilshere when he was 17 : play him !

          1. I might be getting ahead miself but Adelaide loooked like the brightest prospect we’ve had since Fabregas

        2. Also against Wolfsburg, he recieves the ball, drifts a bit wide to create some space for him. Then he sees Walcott going clear thorugh the middle, with no defender aside him, and releases the ball perfectly at right time. And he did this at the age of 17.

  11. walcot on d right,Sanchez on d left and giroud as centre forward is d best attack we shud use did season.

  12. @phychem don’t use the word best to describe any attack formation we have bro…i wld rather u used available or possible attack..on a light touch though!

  13. It don’t matter because we won’t get past the last 16 yet again see that YET AGAIN
    I think it’s time arsenal fans stopped going to the games until the club get a manager / coach to do a job. Merson said yesterday the same as I have been saying on here since the end of the season. How can we win the EPL with the same team that was 12 points shy. I want to win things and I don’t want the club to buy cups but you need to buy player and any player is available at the right price. Any one involved in football keeps saying we need a CB A DM A CF but AW just can’t see this ???????????

      1. Because BFG is to slow and always making mistakes and Chambers tbh is shit and if LC get hurt we are stuffed. He is top 10 best CB in the world so he should have a partner as good

  14. Both Alexis and Theo need to find their form soon as they won’t have a WC CF to assist them this season thanks to a certain 65 year old Frenchman

    Giroud isn’t WC but his last goal was class. Really liked that goal (our only real goal this season so far).
    Giroud is capable of 20 goals so lets hope has a good season.

    Theo is capable of 20 or more goals as well.

  15. The wenger train is a cult.
    The board know there is a wenger following that is starting to decline but will run with it till the end. And the end is when 90 per cent of the fans in England say no more wenger. The AKB is on the decline and wenger has run out of excuses. A revolt will eventually come.

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