The time is fast approaching when our much loved Chilean returns, once at full fitness of course he will reclaim his position on the left in Arsenal’s starting line-up, with Cazorla unable to return for at least 8 weeks, you would assume Ramsey will keep his favoured position in the middle. This leaves just the right wing position up for grabs and today I will discuss my pick for the right.
Theo Walcott. TW14 is undoubtedly our most senior right winger, at 26 he should now be hitting the peak of his already long career. His pace is, of course, his key attribute and while both other wingers do have great pace, they cannot match up to Theo. Also as I have mentioned he is our most experienced winger with 192 premier league and champions league appearances for the club, he is also the longest serving member of our squad having been at Arsenal for fast approaching a decade.
Some reservations about Theo Walcott mainly come down to his inconsistency, especially in the finishing department. He can score wonderful goals, at times he will get through and you just know he is going to score, but then there are games where no matter how many chances he gets he looks like he will never score. Theo has 5 goals and 3 assists this year, however only one goal has come when playing on the wing and he is yet to register an assist from out wide.
I am of the opinion Theo should return to the bench upon Sanchez’s return and continue to interchange with Giroud.
I don’t want to criticize Oxlade-Chamberlain too much so I won’t write too much about him. I am of the opinion that he needs a loan move away from the club until he can prove he can perform in this league. Plenty of teams would love to take him on and it would give him a platform of consistent first team football, something he seems incapable of earning with us. He is yet to score more than 2 in any premier league campaign, yet to register at all this season so perhaps he needs a chance at a “smaller” club to produce consistently, or even at all.
Joel Campbell is my choice for right wing and I feel most fans will also agree. He has come from being on the verge of departing in the summer to well and truly taking his chance when injuries struck. AW has just said his rise this year has mirrored that of Coquelin last year. He has got himself among the goals, has an eye for a pass, he is very skillful and of course works like a trooper. He is very close to Alexis Sanchez when it comes to work rate, and I feel having that work rate on both sides of the pitch will prove very beneficial. He has two league goals already, and he seems to be growing in confidence. I also think he and Bellerín have a better understanding on that side than the other two.
I would like to see JC taking a few more chances when in possession though, there are times you feel that he could take on his man but decides to play it safe. This can be taken as both a weakness and a strength, whilst it means he may miss the odd opportunity to create a chance it also means that his game has very few errors in it. At 23 Joel Campbell has a long way to go yet, he has many years of improvement ahead of him and I believe he has earned the opportunity to prove he can be a mainstay in our front three.
What do guys think, do you agree with my assessments? Who do you think should play on the right? Or am I too harsh on the Ox? Let me know in the comments.
By JonnHirons