Why Arsenal boss must rest Alexis and play Walcott

There is already some good news for Arsenal fans on our Chile international star Alexis Sanchez as the latest international break approaches. Instead of the striker’s usual long haul trip to South America and back, Alexis only has a short trip across Europe to worry about.

Chile will play a friendly against Iran in Austria (???) next Thursday before flying back to London with his international team mates to face Brazil in a friendly at the Emirates. But we know that the Arsenal striker will play the whole of both friendly games and will give everything even though they are fairly meaningless.

After that the Premier League resumes with a tough and crucial game against Liverpool and we want the Alexis from earlier in the season back rather than the slightly fatigued looking player he has been recently. At the same time we have Theo Walcott who is crying out for more time on the pitch, especially if he is going to play for England in the upcoming break. So surely Arsene Wenger can put these two things together to make four, especially as our game at the weekend is a trip to face Newcastle.

Already pretty safe from relegation and with a raft of injury problems, a suspension to their club captain and best defender Coloccini to add to the Papiss Cisse ban for spitting, the Magpies should be there for the taking. Will there ever be a better time or reason to give Alexis a well earned rest and hopefully help him to shine again for the rest of the season?

Tags Chile Newcastle Wenger

25 Comments

  1. probably is a good time to rest him, especially since Liverpool is looming. But whomever AW starts, we need both of them to step their game up on the pitch.

    1. giroud
      welbeck roziscky walcott
      ramsey
      coq
      gibbs koz gabriel chambers? (bellerin)
      ospina
      [ rest: ozil, caz, sanchez]

  2. Yes we do need to rest Sanchez…

    but do we have a quality backup to replace Sanchez for a game?

    No we dont…..

    1. How did that get thumbed down? The whippet is the quality alternative? Please …. On any footballing criteria he’s a lower team player…. And am sick of the he needs game time after injury argument … He’s been match ready for two months or more and should be willing and able to prove he is a first team contender…instead each time he appears it’s the jogging around plus the ocassional darting run on display again along with the demonstrated ability not to be able to dribble with the ball the failure to give real defensive support to full back and the persistent fragility in front of goal … Should be part of a buy one get one free package with wenger

  3. yes, rest sanchez for walcott. theo needs game time, and especially target practice in front of goal. give gabriel a start and rest mesut/cazorla. no need to take any chances before the break. let’s hope everyone stays healthy for once.

  4. i agree we should rest sanchez, but if wenger doesn’t i hope wenger plays him centrally off of giroud. i think he needs to go back in the middle for a little, so he can get his touch and confidence back. Plus he would have the required space he needs to dribble, drop deep and create or make darting runs left right or center.

    Id go with a front 4 of…..
    ……………………………Giroud………………….
    …….theo/welbeck………alexis………….ozil…………..

    1. and i think we need to rest cazorla, he is 30 and ran his as* off on tuesday and he looked pretty damn drained at the end of the match.

    2. I actually playing alexis behind giroud will help him regain his form, he was scoring for fun when he was used behind welbeck, just like suarez and sturridge

      1. @bayjerkoff
        Yeah, that’s wat I tout Wenger should’ve done vs Monaco…play Alexis behind Giroud and subbed Ozil…that would’ve left Welback, Theo, Alex and Girioud…remem we wer chasing a goal…

  5. Like to see us winning the game first before making changes. Unfortunately player changing during a game has not been Wengers strong points but the other night against Monaco he did try though too late, AGAIN.So, be winning against Newcastle then pull off Sanchez etc.

    1. what the hell are you talking about wenger has been spot on with his subs lately. give the man credit when its due

  6. Walcott is quality, not Sanchez level, but he’s ok. That won’t get us a title. Walcott has had his chances and not come through, injury has plagued his career but it has also for other players dubbed as equally promising as Theo in his teen years. Players like Sergio Aguero, Gareth Bale and Juan Mata are all around his age, have struggled with injuries and were no more highly rated than teenage Theo and still perform at a high level. Walcott’s problem is his attitude and effort, it’s not there like it is with Sanchez, Cazorla, Ramsey.
    So let’s give our promising young wingers, Ox and Gnabry, a shot to change that tradition and be better wingers than Walcott. Not because they have anymore potential than he had, but because they are going to put in a shift and not complain about not playing as a striker.

    1. Am I missing something, when did he have his chance? I seem to remember him being top scorer the season before his injury and then had 5 goals and 5 assists in 10 matches the season he was injured (that also included another 6 week injury). He has only been given 3 starts so far coming back and scored 2 goals in them, that’s after 12 months out!

      He is the same player he was; doesn’t track back very much, likes to hang on the CBs and skirt his winger duties BUT he scores, he terrifies the opposing defence and prevents their wing-backs from moving forward because he is deadly on any counter.

      Just wait until he starts scoring 50% of those 1v1s he has already been making for himself.

      1. haha no you’re not missing anything… just the regular blind pessimism and selective memories that are usually in action.

        but yes I 100% agree. Theo had improved in leaps and bounds until the serious injury lay-off and his finishing was exceptional, not too mention was really starting to have moments in big games. He really just needs game-time and to string a few good performances together with confidence to build upon.

  7. Off subject
    The league champions are out.
    The league leaders are out.
    The nearly last year champions{ha!Liverpool) are out.
    The Arsenal are out.
    Who gets the biggest obituaries by the hacks? The Arsenal off course
    I believe they all have a little soft spot for the gunners and if they don’t.
    F*** UM.

  8. Talk of pellegrini getting the boot end of season and that’s after winning the PL and League Cup…

    Can’t see it happening as its only nobbie savage saying it but you never know. They are a results driven club where no manager has a job for life if they don’t deliver;)

  9. Even if Sanchez is given a rest by the boss for the Newcastle game, he will still go and run himself aground in Iran and Brazil games and return to Arsenal tired. That doesn’t mean the boss should not rest him for the Newcastle game. The boss should rest him for that game. Talking of resting Gunners for Newcastle game, is Sanchez the only Gunner needing a game rest? How about Giroud, Ozil and Coquelin? Do they too need to have a game rest? As we want to collect all the 3 points that will be at stake at St James, could the boss take a gamble to rest those 3 Gunners and draft in Gnabry, Rosicky and Flamini to replace them at Newcastle? Are the Gunners that needed a game rest machines? Even machine can be rested a times as it becomes engine fatigued.

  10. @goonsquad8
    Wengers substitution the other night was so spot on?Where out man.
    Wengers only been at the Arsenal since the mid 90’s,bit slow learning about subs don’t u think?

  11. In-depth analysis on AFC’s terrible injury situation:

    (HTeeTeeP://)www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2014/10/13/injuries-report-what-lies-behind-arsenals-appalling-fitness-record/

    Some interesting trends/findings. No! one isn’t ‘bad luck’.

  12. Alexis is puffed out. Walcott needs game time. No brainer really. I’d also be tempted to give Cazorla/Ozil a rest and Rambo needs to start. Welbeck deserves a start too after performing very well for 60 minutes midweek. The only thing I don’t want to see is a slowing of momentum – we need to still play well and for that, I think we need Giroud at the top to keep playing. The boy is doing great since his blip game.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors