Is Theo Walcott Arsenal’s new striker? by JH
With the confirmation that Theo has signed da ting, with a deal that locks him down for his best years at Arsenal and also puts him up with Sanchez and Ozil in terms of wages, do we the fans finally know who our new striker is?
Over the past couple of years AW has given Walcott the chance to prove what he says, that he is a striker. On occasions he has been impressive, think back to that crazy Reading game where Theo scored 3 of our 7 goals, or his effort when we again scored 7, this time against Newcastle. He scored 3 and created a further 2, or more recently his hat-trick on the final day against West Brom, and his goal in the FA cup final.
But there are times where he just seems out of his depth – given no time on the ball and no space to run into he is almost a passenger, whereas Giroud can battle with defenders to earn space. Theo needs other players to remove his markers for him with intellegent runs. There is no doubt Walcott needs to improve as a CF, but he can’t without actually playing there.
Another downside compared to the much maligned Frenchman is that, without him, Arsenal have no aerial presence up front. Any long clearances will more often than not come straight back, goal kicks will have to go short, even most of our throw ins go to Giroud to knock down. The ability to cross the ball in the air is removed. How many headers will Walcott score? Or even win.
Now you may think I prefer Giroud up front. I don’t. I simply realise we lose a lot by replacing him with Walcott.
I believe with Walcott up front we look so much more dangerous, the added pace is frightening, Sanchez, Walcott, Chamberlain. Just think about that front three. Now imagine you are a defender facing them…. Unpleasant.
With this front three we have three scarily fast attackers, capable of chasing down any ball that Ozil or Cazorla play through. It also makes our attack superbly fluid, the three of them can rotate making each of them a nightmare to mark. With Sanchez and the Ox’s ability to beat a man on the break, they would’ve able to square it for Walcott straight away, instead of having to wait for Giroud to catch up.
It also makes our potential on the counter so much more effective. The speed of Sanchez, Walcott and Chamberlain breaking out, along with Bellerin and perhaps the engine of Ramsey, Ozil would have his pick of players to pick out.
I also think Walcott is both more clinical and more intelligent when making runs than Giroud.
In conclusion, Whilst I believe the job Giroud does for us is vastly overlooked, I believe a fully fit Walcott is a far superior goalscorer, and will drive us further than Giroud.
What do you guys think? Giroud or Walcott? Or do we still need to break the bank for a new striker??
By Jonnhirons
Predict The Score and win an Arsenal Home Shirt