Theo Walcott needs to play on the Right!! by JH
One of Arsenals main issues this season has been our lack of pace up top. With Aaron Ramsey on the wing we lose the pace and width that The Ox or Theo naturally provide. I do understand AW putting him on the wing is due to his ability to change a game, He is very good at converting chances, he also has a great range of passing coupled with fantastic vision, I also believe he is there for his engine, Aaron Ramsey can run, and he can run for 90 minutes, something most other players cannot, so with that engine you would assume he gives good protection for his fullback.
But this is not the case, due to Ramseys constant inclination to move in field, he is often seen in the number 10 role, sometimes even closer to left than he is to the right. While of course there are times where Sanchez shall go and cover his position, he does not always, because he is our left winger, this is where he is most effective, therefore this is why he plays there.
Ozil also finds himself trying to cover Ramsey on the right, but no matter how much I rate Mesut Ozil, he is not cut out for the defensive duties as a LW, hence why he plays number 10, he is a creative genius, he will not/cannot spend 90 mins going box to box, helping the defense whilst simultaneously orchestrating our attacks.
And then there are times where nobody covers him, and there is a huge hole on our right, the ball inevitably falls to the right, but nobody is there to pick it up, the opposition clear, and look to attack our right side as we only have a 19 year old kid there to stop them.
Simply put, I agree that Ramsey in the team gives the team an added edge, HOWEVER!!! Aaron Ramsey on the right takes away our edge.
Now I love the Ox, and wish I could say he should start every game, his pace and power are fantastic weapons, he also has great feet to beat his man, but he simply doesn’t score enough. When you play a front three, I feel both wingers need to chip in 10-15 goals. Now I know He might get that many given a full season. He might, but Walcott would. And right now I don’t feel Arsene has time for ‘Ifs’ and ‘maybes’, he needs certainty.
A full season fully fit on the right, Walcott would score at least 15 I think. He has superb movement on the right side, he is also (most of the time) a very good finisher. He loves to play on the last man, and despite our opponents often playing deep, the timing of Theo’s runs are often impeccable, coupled with the ability of Ozil, Sanchez, Cazorla, Ramsey and whoever else may be behind him, more often than not his runs in between the fullback and centre back would be met with the pass that he wants, and as I have said, he is usually very dependable in front of goal.
I also think that Theo plays a lot on confidence, once he starts scoring, he just looks like a beast, hopefully his 2 goals today (although against an awful side) will give him a boost, I hope to see him net one against Switzerland, and then give him a start on the right against Stoke, who I feel may come at us.
I know he wants to play in the middle, but quite frankly, he is not cut out to play in the middle alone against the majority of the Premier League.
He is now 26, he has just been handed a new long term deal at £140K per week, he needs to earn that paycheck. He has recently reached the 50 mark for Arsenal, but simply put unless he can reach at least 100, he has not met even a fraction of the potential he had. And even if he is to break the 100 club for Arsenal, he would probably be the slowest to do so, Joe Hulme and John Radford taking 307 and 306 games to do so, then Dennis Bergkamp took 296. Theo is already on 211 premier league games for Arsenal and has struck just 50, although these games have come in fits and starts rather than solid runs in the side.
Theo has only amassed 20 or more starts in 2 of his previous 6 seasons at the club. the last of which was the 2012/13 season, his fitness must improve, but when he is fit, I feel he must start.
Although we are just 4 games into our season, Arsenal players have managed just one goal.
Walcott needs games. We need Goals. And I feel that the 2 will come hand in hand.
What do you guys think? Who should play on the right? Theo, the Ox, or should we stick with Ramsey???
By JonnHirons