Giroud’s Appeal Fails: Reviewing Arsenal’s Alternative Attacking Options

With a Robin van Persie-inspired performance handing Manchester United their 20th league title, their arch-rivals, Manchester City, will have to settle for second place and will be odds on to do some business this summer with their petro-greens. While the city of Manchester can brag about having the best two teams in the land, the city of London is currently in an intense battle as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are fighting hard for the remaining coveted Champions League spots.

While Chelsea and Tottenham have grueling fixtures as well the game in hand against each other, Arsenal has four more fixtures against the champions, Manchester United, relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers and Wigan as well as a Newcastle side not still assured of their Premier League status. While a draw against Manchester United seems like the most possible outcome, the Gunners will be assured of a place in next season’s Champions League if they can record consecutive wins over QPR, Wigan and Newcastle, as either Chelsea or Tottenham will have to drop points when they play against each other.

However, the Gunners will go into the next three games without the services of Olivier Giroud, that has seen the appeal from his club rejected following his dismissal in Craven Cottage. The FA has released an official statement on this subject matter,

Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud has had his claim for wrongful dismissal rejected.

“Giroud was dismissed for serious foul play during his side’s game against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday 20 April 2013.

“The player’s three-match suspension will therefore commence with immediate effect.”

In his debut campaign at Arsenal, the French forward has enjoyed a somewhat decent season that saw him score in purple patches as well as going through spells of goal droughts. Despite the fact that Giroud is Arsenal’s second highest goalscorer behind Theo Walcott (who’s also on a drought) with 17 goals, many Arsenal fans won’t be quick to forget his glaring misses as the campaign progressed – the blatant miss in his debut against Sunderland, that spurned chance in the dying moments against Chelsea at home and more recently, the sitter against Everton last week.

With Giroud out of the side for three games before a potential return in the final game of the campaign against Newcastle, Arsene Wenger will have to assign another player with the task of coming up with the goods while Monsieur Giroud gets some rest. Prior to his red card against Fulham, Giroud had notched up 46 appearances for the club and he could do with a breather to recharge his batteries, even if it’s forced by suspension.

Without further ado, here are the likeliest of attacking alternatives that could be selected by Arsene Wenger for the games against Manchester United, QPR and Wigan in Giroud’s absence.

Gervinho

The Ivorian forward has endured a topsy-turvy campaign this season. Despite having a debut that was tainted by the antics of Joey Barton, Gervinho was in good form before representing his nation in the 2012 African Cup of Nations but after missing the crucial penalty that his nation lose the finals to Zambia, Gervinho returned to Arsenal like a player that was possessed with a ghost.

With a good summer’s break to cool off, Gervinho shocked everyone in the start of the campaign with some inspired performances that saw him score a brace against Southampton and it was followed with goals against Montpellier, Chelsea and Olympiakos making the Ivorian Arsenal’s leading goalscorer at that point in time.

As the months progressed, Gervinho’s form dwindled and his performances in the cup games against Bradford and Blackburn were marred with glaring misses that proved costly as Arsenal were ousted from both competitions. This brought Gervinho into the bad books of the fans and probably his manager as he featured sparingly.

In a strange twist of fate, an injury suffered to Theo Walcott during the last international break paved the way for Gervinho to get a run-out and he grabbed the chance with both hands as he was instrumental in Arsenal’s victories over Reading and West Brom. Just when we thought that Gervinho was finding some form, he was back to his frustrating best against Norwich as he hasn’t returned to the first-team setup.

On his day, Gervinho is a force to be reckoned with as he’s a fleet-footed player with good dribbling skills and some flamboyancy but for some strange reason, his technique is questionable and he generally runs out of ideas in the final third. With Arsenal looking for a forward to come up with the goods, Gervinho wouldn’t be a likely option.

Possibility of replacing Giroud: Low

Theo Walcott

Arsenal’s leading goalscorer, Theo Walcott, will look back to this season with a keen sense of pride. With Robin van Persie departing for greener pastures, Arsenal needed some players to step their games up and in all fairness, Walcott falls into that category.

The entertaining, enthralling and epic encounter between Reading and Arsenal in the Capital One cup would go down as one of the most pulsating matches in English football history but Walcott placed his mark on that fixture, scoring a stunning hat-trick. There was the brace against Coventry and a consistent run of goals in the course of the season, but when Walcott was deployed as a center forward against Newcastle in December, he rewarded his manager with another scintillating hat-trick.

Some may label the forward as a one-trick pony but Walcott’s efficiency in front of goal has been very clinical and the nature of his goals this season is a testament of these claims. However, Walcott struggled a bit when he was deployed as a center forward at Giroud’s expense last winter. His height was clearly an issue as he offered no threat from the air and wasn’t able to bring his teammate’s into the game with nice flicks and linkup moves.

Notwithstanding, Walcott’s blistering pace remains a potent force and Arsenal can use it to their advantage, especially against slow defenses like that of QPR and Wigan.

Possibility of replacing Giroud: High

Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski is a renowned center forward but his versatility ensures that he can be deployed in other attacking positions, as he can play in the hole behind the striker as well as the left wing position, where he has played for throughout his time at Arsenal with the exception of his debut against Sunderland, where he put up a disappointing show.

The German is currently ranked in third place in Arsenal’s scoring charts, as he has managed to score 14 goals and lay on a couple of assists in his maiden season in England. While he may not produce performances that would make you drool week in week out, Podolski’s efficiency, work ethic and consistency (and injuries, of course) have been the major highlights of his fledgling Arsenal career.

The German has struggled with niggling injuries in the course of the season and has been on the fringes as well but when he’s summoned from the bench, he has gone on to make some telling contributions to the overall play like his equalizer against Swansea in the FA Cup third round or his match clincher against Norwich last week.

With Giroud out through suspension, Arsene Wenger has tipped Podolski to spearhead the team’s attack, and I can bet my smart money that the German would lead the line in these upcoming fixtures against Manchester United, QPR and Wigan.

Possibility of replacing Giroud: Very High

Andrey Arshavin

Just kidding…

Conclusion

This season has shown that there are players within the team that can deputize for the first-team regulars and still put on a great shift.

In goal, Lukasz Fabianski replaced the under-performing Wojciech Szczesny and made some commanding displays in goal before injury thwarted his progress yet again. In defense, Carl Jenkinson has been immense when Bacary Sagna is out injured and with Laurent Koscielny’s solid performances in tandem with Per Mertesacker, it has been hard for the captain to command his place back in the starting lineup.

Irrespective of who Arsene Wenger selects as his center forward, Arsenal would be expect to get maximum points in their remaining fixtures for the remainder of the season. With Giroud serving  his match ban, Arsene Wenger will need to act fast.

The question remains – will he go for the trickery of Gervinho, the raw pace of Walcott or the efficiency of Podolski.

Sayonara.

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Thoughts on Walcott’s Desire to Win Trophies

After spending my Easter with loved ones far away from my laptop and all things Arsenal, I took some time off to watch Bayern Munich see out the threat Juventus posed as well as the pulsating draw between Paris St. Germain and Barcelona.

From an Arsenal perspective, it was a classic case of what might have been, as the Gunners watched sadly as their knockout phase victors from Bavaria put one foot in the semis with a comfortable lead over Juventus. Elsewhere, Cesc Fabregas was a halftime sub while Alex Song served time on the bench yet again as Barcelona almost ran away with a victory before a late Blaise Matuidi goal gave the home side a deserved draw.

All four Champions League quarter finalists from yesterday’s fixture list have one thing in common – they are odds on to win their respective league titles. In addition to the league titles they might probably clinch, one of these sides can go all the way to win Europe’s elite club competition while in the Red Half of North London, a certain club is gearing up for an eighth consecutive season without any form of silverware.

A long while ago, shortly after the debacle in the then Carling Cup final against Birmingham City, I published a post highlighting reasons why Arsenal remains trophy-less.  I had written about the club’s lack of ruthlessness in the transfer window, focus on technical ability over leadership influence, the way the club handled RvP’s injuries (we still had him then), immeasurable faith in youth, Wenger’s mockery of the Carling Cup, continual belief in under-performing inconsistent players among others.

Theo Walcott has been a bright spark in what has been a relatively dark season and he has had his best goalscoring return of 18 goals in all competitions. The 24-year-old recently signed a new deal that would keep at the club for a long while and he also reached a milestone in Arsenal colors, surpassing the 250-game mark in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Sunderland.

Despite reaching this magnificent achievement, Walcott has stated that he would trade all his appearances for Arsenal to win a trophy,

“I would personally take all of [my] appearances away to win something at this Club. Some people may think I’m mad but I think I’m not selfish. I like to think for the Club and the fans.

“Appearances are great but winning things means more. Hopefully next season, when I hopefully reach 300 appearances, there will be a trophy on the end of that. That’s the biggest target.

I’m not in any position to challenge Walcott’s truthfulness or if this is another PR stunt but the fact remains that with Arsenal ending the season without silverware, some players might want to seek greener pastures elsewhere and the amount of years in  the player’s contract is not a determining factor on whether he can leave the club or not.

While players like Robin van Persie, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri put the club in a tight situation with one year left on their respective deals, players like Emmanuel Adebayor, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas have also proven that the exodus can continue even for players with lengthy deals.

At Arsenal, we have to come to terms with the harsh reality that this club isn’t good enough to challenge for trophies until some drastic changes are made in the summer.

Arsene Wenger doesn’t need any soothsayer to tell him that he needs an enforcer in the middle of the park to assist Mikel Arteta and a profilic center forward to challenge Olivier Giroud for his place. Some deadwood also have to go to free up the club’s ever-increasing wage bill.

While Andrey Arshavin and Sebastien Squillaci are sure-fire favorites to get the axe with their contracts expiring this summer, Arsenal has to make decisions on the futures of Johan Djourou (he wants to stay in Hannover), Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner, Park Chu-Young, Andre Santos and Denilson (Sao Paolo are ready to send him packing).

Arsenal will also have to strive to break the trend of selling key names in the summer, so serious work must be done to secure Bacary Sagna’s future, as he approaches the twilight years of his Arsenal career. Walcott was also under the spotlight for his contract dispute but that has been put to bed.

With personnel sorted out, Arsenal should also look to improve in their performances against the traditional Big Boys of the Premier League. The Gunners lost home and away to Chelsea this season and lost at home to Manchester City but secured a draw at the Etihad. Against Tottenham, the Gunners ran riot past them at home but lost the corresponding fixture away.

While Arsenal can be happy about their current fixture list, a potential banana skin against Manchester United comes up soon with Robin van Persie potentially grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons. When the Gunners visited Old Trafford, they put up a very appalling performance that culminated in defeat.

If the Gunners can secure good results against these teams next season as well as grabbing customary wins against the perceived weaker sides, Arsene Wenger’s men can reignite the 2003/04 spirit or the 2007/08 spirit. I’d prefer the former though.

Winning a trophy will be a truly magnificent achievement for Walcott and co. but you can’t get addicted to smoking if you haven’t lighted your first cigarette.

At this point in time, Arsenal’s focus should be firmly shifted to securing a Champions League spot at the end of the season. Then we can plan ahead from there.

Sayonara.

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Latest Updates on Theo Walcott’s New Deal and Transfer Speculation

finally, he wants to sign da ting

 

Sign the ting na, sign the ting. Theo Walcott, sign the ting. 

If you don’t, well, then you’re stuck on the bench, listening to Frimpong chat about Dench.

We got Podolski, we got Giroud, even Gervinho’s been up front too.

In what seemed like almost an eternity that had become a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh all season long, Theo Walcott is set to sign a new deal worth £90,000-per-week (via Goal.com), which will be bolstered by mouth-watering clauses and a large signing-on fee. The deal is expected to run till 2017 and Walcott is odds on to put pen to paper before this week runs out.

Walcott had earlier stated that it was never about money but he wanted a run-out in the center forward position, where he played against Reading, Wigan, Newcastle and Southampton before going back to the right wing when the Gunners played Swansea last weekend.

In his four-game stint as Arsenal’s center forward, Walcott scored four goals with his pick of the bunch being the stunning hat-trick against Newcastle. However, Walcott had become to comfortable in the center forward berth that he lost his positional bearings on countless occasions when Arsenal played Swansea. Times without number, Bacary Sagna looked ahead and Walcott was nowhere to be found.

In the Premier League, Walcott has made 16 appearances, scored eight goals, created six assists and he has a pass completion percentage of 83.9, which is quite impressive in my opinion. At 23, the forward’s best years are way ahead of him and under Arsene Wenger’s tutelage, he can be molded into one of the finest attackers in the business.

His pace has always been his major asset that has been used to devastating effect and his finishing has also improved, even though I was a bit disappointed with the chance he missed against Swansea when the home side awarded him with that chance on a platter.

His distribution from corner kicks have been quite effective but I wouldn’t want to see him take a free kick again – especially when Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla are still on the pitch.

Sunday’s draw against Swansea had its fair share of positives and negatives too.

On the bright side, Kieran Gibbs put up a standout performance and that goal was no less than he deserved. Lukas Podolski showed why quality on the bench can play a role in changing the outcome of a game and Giroud’s technical prowess was on show again. His pass to Gibbs was a peach.

Arsenal wanted the ball and made good use of it. Michu’s goal brought a keen sense of urgency into the side as they pushed on to score those quick-fire goals late on.

However, questioned were asked about the Gunners’ defending yet again, with Michu and Danny Graham not wasting any time in dealing with the team’s defensive lapses. Bacary Sagna’s crossing was erratic and Walcott’s positioning on the flank was a cause for concern, as he was never really available for a pass in where he was supposed to be deployed.

Nonetheless, a replay is way better than being out of the competition entirely. The date has been confirmed and the game has been sandwiched between Arsenal’s fixtures against Manchester City and Chelsea. If Arsenal is victorious in the replay, they’ll take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the Fourth Round before hosting Liverpool in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta has spoken about the importance about the replay and he has stated that the team doesn’t want to waste the chance. The Spaniard also commended the team’s character but was frustrated about the late equalizer conceded. I wouldn’t like to point any fingers but it was Arteta that failed to close Graham down in the buildup to Swansea’s equalizer.

While Per Mertesacker believes in his heart of hearts that this current crop of players can achieve something soon, Jack Wilshere believes that a trophy will pave the way for more.

As I’ll always say, if you haven’t had your first cigarette, you can’t get addicted to smoking.

This players know that the fans have grown very weary and eight years without a trophy is a bitter pill to swallow for a team that was synonymous with success in the yesteryear.

From Arsene Wenger’s arrival in 1996 till Jose Mourinho’s first Premier League triumph in 2005, the Gunners didn’t finish below second position. Since then, it has been a quick succession of third and fourth finishes in a somewhat zigzag motion.

As expected, the January transfer window has seen teams plunge into the market to get the players they’ve always desired and most of them have made immediately impacts in their various clubs.

Demba Ba bagged a brace on his debut, Danny Sturridge also capped his first Liverpool start with a tidy finish and Newcastle fans are drooling with the prospect of watching Mark Debuchy strut his stuff down the right.

At Arsenal, Marouane Chamakh has been shipped out to West Ham, and Johan Djourou has revealed that Mertesacker advised him to join Hannover 96 (via Goal.com). Elsewhere, the Gunners have rejected Everton’s inquiry for Tomas Rosicky (via Gooner Talk), Sao Paulo wants to make Denilson’s deal permanent (via Fanatix) and Ignasi Miquel is odds on to make a loan switch to the Owls, Sheffield Wednesday (via Arseblog News).

Speaking of owls, Hotty McOwl or Andrey Arshavin, as he’s known in the football world, is keen on switching to Fulham, with the Cottagers interested in his services. It’s really sad to see how Arshavin’s career in Arsenal has panned out and a move out of the Emirates will be in his best interests.

He took a pay-cut from Zenit St. Petersburg to join the Gunners. I’m pretty sure that he might take another pay-cut to join Fulham. Should he decide to join the West Londoners, I can only wish him all the best, and I hope that they’ll play to his strengths. At Arsenal, he struggled as a left winger but we all know that the diminutive Russian thrives in the hole behind the center forward.

On potential arrivals, Arsene Wenger has promised to pull Arsenal’s purse strings (via ESPN) and Goal.com reports that the Gunners have made a formal approach for Barcelona’s David Villa as well as a £10m offer for Atletico’s Adrian Lopez. The Gunners are also considering an £8m bid for Anderlecht’s midfield general, Lucas Bilgia (via Independent).

I may dispute the signing of David Villa but Adrian and Bilgia will add a lot to this team as the season progresses. The Atletico forward is also adept in the wings, which will provide stiff competition for the incumbent wingers in the team. Despite the affection the Gooners have for Mikel Arteta, he has struggled in his defensive duties in some games, while he has excelled in others.

Having a natural midfield enforcer like Bilgia will be a huge bonus for the Gunners and the Argentine powerhouse has a lot to offer, as he has a good passing range and is also a good football technician, a trait attributed to Arsenal in recent times.

I’m pretty sure that there’ll be more transfer activity as the month progresses and I’ll keep you updated as the news unfolds.

Sayonara.

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Thoughts on Walcott Playing Through the Middle, in Contrast to Giroud

Walcott makes it 5 against Reading

Arsenal’s much-renowned attacking play had been questioned in recent weeks. A few months back, it took 93 minutes of regulation time for the Gunners to get an attempt on goal against Schalke 04 at the Emirates. In Old Trafford, Santi Cazorla’s consolation goal came as late as the 94th minute and it seemed as if it was the first real attacking threat the Gunners posed.

More recently, Arsenal’s attack was toothless against Aston Villa, Everton, Swansea and Olympiakos. It took two Mikel Arteta penalties to see out West Brom and the Gunners were wasteful against Bradford, which proved to be their undoing as they lost on penalties.

When the Gunners visited a struggling Reading side at the Madejski Stadium, Arsene Wenger made a bold move by handing Theo Walcott a start ahead of Olivier Giroud and of course, Gervinho. The English speedster blended into Arsenal’s flamboyant attacking play and worked in tandem with his supporting forwards, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

After Podolski had opened the scoring for the visitors, the imperious Santi Cazorla dinked a sumptuous through ball that sent Walcott on the clear in behind the Reading back line, but the forward failed to convert the chance. However, he put the icing on a well-baked cake with a placed finish late on that settled Arsenal nerves as Reading seemed to be on the ascendancy after scoring two goals in quick succession.

With Walcott spearheading the attack, Arsenal’s play was very fluid and the off-the-ball movement was top-notch, reminiscent of the Wenger boys of the yesteryear. Despite being deployed as the primary center forward, Walcott drifted into the flanks allowing Santi Cazorla more freedom to express himself in attack, which earned him the match ball after a marvelous hat-trick.

In a very long time, I saw Arsenal’s players wanting the ball – and doing something with it. There was always an available pocket of space to send a pass to and the five goals scored wasn’t a true reflection of how the game could have panned out. Reading’s goalie, Adam Federici, made his fair share of saves, but he was beaten by Walcott early on, only for Adrian Mariappa to spare his blushes with a last-ditch goal-saving interception.

Theo Walcott is undoubtedly an important player for Arsenal and the fact that he hasn’t signed a new deal yet is a major cause for concern, as it has been reported that the British quintet of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson have all signed long-term deals with the club.

New Deals for the British quintet…

With 11 goals already to his name, Walcott is odds to hit the 20-goal mark this season for Arsenal, if he manages to survive not being sold in January. With his contract situation still shrouded in mystery, Arsenal might be forced to what they do best but I really hope that they could cling to him this time.

There are other targets out there, as Santi Cazorla has urged his manager to sign Fernando Llorente. The Lion, as he’s fondly called in Basque, is a proven goalscorer, but the similarities between him and Olivier Giroud are too glaring. Despite being good on their feet, both players thrive on aerial balls, which offers Arsenal a good plan B, something we already have in Giroud.

I’ll give my take on the Frenchman as this post progresses.

Then there’s Demba Ba, the Senegalese star set to face a fine because he professed his love for the Red and White. Ba has a much talked-about buyout clause of £7.5m and he knows how to find the back of the net with clinical ease. This season, he has netted 11 goals in 17 games from a Newcastle side not renowned for their creative prowess.

Take out Hatem Ben Arfa and probably, Yohan Cabaye and it will be difficult for Ba to find what to feed on; yet he has been banging in goals with consummate ease. Feed him the service from Arsenal’s vast array of creative talent, and you’ll have a goalscoring predator in your midst.

The best part is that Senegal has been woeful in recent times, so Demba Ba won’t be going to the African Cup of Nations, a tournament that has robbed football clubs off their African talent in this crucial winter period.

There has also been talk of the goalscoring Hunter, Klass-Jan Huntelaar that is reaching the climax of his current deal in Schalke 04. Arsenal got a first-hand demonstration of Huntelaar’s goalscoring prowess in the Champions League group stages and there have been rumors that he favors a move to Inter Milan, ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool.

Word on the street is that he will join Arsenal if we can agree to give him a £100,000 per week deal.

The media Vultures will always do their bit to feed football fans with rumors and speculations but Arsenal will have to make do with its current crop of forwards – Walcott, Giroud, Podolski, the Ox, Gervinho and Chamakh.

I have no plans writing about Gervinho and Chamakh because the mere thought of them is no different from seeing Freddy Krueger in your dreams. Despite having a good run of form early in the season, Gervinho has been appalling in recent times and I don’t want to see him wear the Red and White again, except when Arsenal is leading with three to four goals and they want to rest a player.

I have a few thoughts on Olivier Giroud though.

The French forward was the cream of the crop in North London when he went on that amazing run of form that saw him score five goals in six games or so. Out of his seven goals scored this season, four have come from his head, which shows off his outstanding aerial ability.

Arsenal isn’t renowned as being a team that is setup to play with a traditional target man, but it’s a side that thrives on the fluidity of its attack which is built around intricate passing play, quick tempo, intelligent off-the-ball movement, teamwork and technique.

Giroud hasn’t been on the goals lately, but his work rate cannot be faulted. However, I must express my disappointment on his actions in the buildup to Mikel Arteta’s second goal against West Brom. The Frenchman is a very good team player and using him or Walcott offers Arsenal different options in attack, which is a good thing.

A pretty familiar gesture

Arsenal fans must accept that either Giroud or Walcott aren’t not Robin van Persie, and must give these guys the chance to prove their worth to the team.

Giroud is a striker eager to show what he’s made of, and there’s always an air of disappointment for every spurned chance as he looks to the Heavens to reflect on what might have been. Theo Walcott on the other hand, has used his lethal pace to great effect this season and has really matured as a player each passing season.

Theo Walcott is renowned for his pace, composure in front of goal and a clinical finishing ability. He’s in the mold of Tottenham’s Jermaine Defoe, that doesn’t have the height to challenge the big defenders of this world, but when he’s in your box, you’ll be very sorry.

Giroud has settled well from a different footballing culture, but his linkup play and high work rate is complimented with his aerial prowess and good finishing ability as well. For those that don’t know, out of Giroud’s 21 Ligue 1 goals for Montpellier last season, only one was scored with his head.

With a joint goalscoring count of 18 goals this season, Walcott and Giroud are undoubtedly indispensable player to Arsenal. Well that’s what we said about Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and more recently, Robin van Persie.

Sayonara.

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Maybe Wenger has a Point on the Walcott Case

Will you sign da Ting?

We are approaching the halfway point of the season and there has been a lot to reflect on as the campaign progresses. On the pitch, the fans have witnessed hot and cold performances from their darling Arsenal and some players have excelled while others have struggled.

Off the pitch, a lot of issues need addressing and one can look no further than the Theo Walcott contract situation that has been a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh. This is a somewhat familiar road for Arsenal but it seems as if money isn’t the issue (I don’t believe that though!).

Stanley Maduka or @Stanley_93, as he’s known on Twitter, is a massive Gooner that has been with the club since the days Chuck Norris ruled Hollywood with his unbelievable action films. Stanley has decided to share his take on Walcott’s situation so sit back, and enjoy the article.

****

Wow! What a game we had in the Capital One Cup, you know the one am on about.

Just like many fans, I had to pay homage to the best Arsenal come back I have ever seen. This game just topples the 3 – 0 come back performed by the invincible against Middlesbrough in the Premier League which ended 5 – 3.

Our star man was undoubtedly Theo Walcott and I am sure you would agree even though other players put in surprising shifts such as Andrey Arshavin, Thomas Elsfeld, Olivier Giroud (Who we all know is quality) and our long lost Moroccan, Marouane Chamakh, Walcott had a game to remember, having started and ended our come back, scoring late in both halves.

Many fear we could lose him to Chelsea and Liverpool supposedly interested with his contract running out in the summer. Despite his shortcomings, Walcott is a good player and getting a player of his quality for basically nothing will be one hell of a bargain for any club.

Arsenal’s No. 14 has claimed that the issue with his contract renewal is due to the manager not assuring him a place in the striking department rather than the winger he is currently deployed as. If that is the case, why isn’t Wenger giving him the green light especially with his goals and good performances? It should be an easy decision after his game at Reading as he totally made his case and the fans happen to share the same view.

Before I continue, I would like to state that I fall into the faction of Arsenal fans that would like to see Walcott as a striker and Wenger recently admitted so himself. So does that mean the contract issue will be resolved soon? Only time will tell.

Wenger’s reluctance got me wandering why a man who has improved immensely with his finishing, off the ball movement, positioning, first touch and other attacking attributes is not assured playing time in a role he felt he could be his best at or was it just another French lunacy?

Just like a hatter, it is hard to know what Le Boss has in mind but I found answers which quenched my curiosity and seem ‘Wenger like’. As we know, Wenger won’t promise a player playing time knowing such promises can’t be kept in order to avoid dealing with an unhappy player down the line and here are some probable reasons behind it.

During the summer transfer window, two strikers in the form of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud were acquired even though the former is used out of his natural position as opposed to the left wing which he currently plays. Why buy such a quality striker and put him on the wings? Well, we all have to agree that he has contributed heavily to the team as he uses his unrivalled work rate in balancing both attack and defence.

Podolski has recently voiced his frustrations and like Walcott, he has stated he wants to play as the main man upfront. In his debut against Sunderland, Podolski started the game as the center forward and was a peripheral player on the pitch. He actually found a new lease of life in his Arsenal career when he was drafted into the left wing – a position where his four goals have come from thus far this season.

I want your position!!!!

 

This issue of players grumbling to play in other positions against their manager’s wish is somewhat troubling. While Walcott and more recently, Podolski, are busy whining to play in the center forward role currently occupied by their teammate, Giroud, what would they say about other Gunners that are still struggling to get into the first team?

Everyone thought that the sale of Alex Song would either allow Wenger to buy another holding midfielder (Cheick Tiote was heavily linked, I remember) or give Francis Coquelin a chance to excel in the first team. However, the gaffer opted for the experienced Mikel Arteta that currently plays a somewhat similar role to Pep Guardiola in his playing days.

Arteta, a once established attacking midfielder, now plays the pivotal role in linking both defence and midfield. This was a role played by Song last season and our Spanish man has gladly welcomed the change saying “it was for the benefit of the team”.

Walcott and Podolski need to learn from Arteta.

You might be getting where I am headed to, maybe Walcott might be of more use to the team if he sticks with Wenger and plays on the wings. I know what you are thinking; he’s inconsistent, has poor-decision making and couldn’t put in a decent cross to save his life.

That might be wrong considering his performance this season.

Of course, we all agree he has been one of our best performers and has any of that come from playing as a striker?

I do not think so and yes, he does drift to that center forward position. This simply means that he needs to get more involved in attack rather than rigidly sticking to the wing and becoming a one-trick pony (like Antonio Valencia) who wants to reach the by-line by all means and put the ball into the box.

It was good seeing the Reading defenders pulling back as Walcott approached as they weren’t sure if he would run past or move inside as he did most of the match. There was some form of fluidity to his game.

Maybe Walcott can adopt similar roles to the likes of football demigods, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In Madrid, CR7 scores majority of the goals (164 goals in 160 game, amazing!!) for Los Merengues but you never see Jose Mourinho remove Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuian as strikers for Ronaldo. In Barcelona, the fluidity of the team allows the gaffer to play Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez, Alexis Sanchez, David Villa or those kids from their Mutant La Masia Academy at any of the attacking positions.

We know who the better player is but maybe their managers don’t do so for separate reasons. They both play down the flanks but they get central to become more involved in the game. Some call them out and out strikers and sometimes are given a free role… A few changes and Walcott might be perfect for this role?

Finally, we all heard Wenger was after Mirallas who he failed to get as he opted out for Everton due to playing time. With more than £35 million in his war chest, rumors are that Adrian Lopez and Llorente are on his radar.

So in reality, there might not be playing time in the striker role for Walcott if another top striker is bought and if Wenger did have to choose among Podolski, a proven striker with a class finish or Giroud, a hard-working striker with good aerial abilities which help in both attacking and defending.

I really doubt Walcott will be first on the list to spearhead our attack seeing our 4-2-3-1 formation.

Is it the lack of playing time in his preferred position or lack of resource to agree to his wage demand? Either way, he needs to be wrapped up in time for Christmas before our rivals start keying in their estimated values for our potential striker.

I do hope Wenger fits him to the best of the team as that is what comes first. Should Wenger let the man have what he wants?

Leave your opinions and share your views. Follow on twitter @Stanley_93

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