Tag: Theo Walcott

Luciano Narsingh: the ideal replacement for Theo Walcott

TotalArsenal

With Gervinho currently injured and due to leave us at the start of the new year for potentially the best part of two months, in order to play in the African Cup of Nations; and Theo’s refusal, until now, to sign a new contract – and therefore likely to be sold in a couple of months, Arsenal are running the considerable risk of not having adequate cover on the wings from January onwards.

Podolski has played mostly on the left wing, but he is not a proper winger, and he suffers significantly when Gibbs is absent and is left too much to his own devices. The Ox has had a few games on the right wing and I personally believe it is his best position at this stage of his career, but I don’t think he is ready yet to become our first choice team player in that position. Ramsey has played on the right wing, but more as a right midfielder and he clearly has not the skillset to be effective in this position.

The big question is: do Arsenal still need ‘classical’ wingers, or do we need multi-skilled midfielders who are capable of taking on players when needed and are fast enough to trouble the full backs of opponents occasionally?

For me, it is a question of which system of football we play. In a 4-5-1, I would be happy for Arsenal to play with multi-skilled midfielders, and a single striker up-front. This formation and system of football has my preference, but ever since the traitor took over from Chamakh, back in January 2011, Arsenal have not played with this system anymore.

In Arsene’s current 4-3-3 formation, I reckon we need traditional wingers –well, one at least – who are both fast and good at taking on players. They should produce a large number of assists as well as score a respectable number of goals themselves. Gervinho and Walcott are such players, and we could come to miss them badly, come the start of the new year.

I would love Theo to stay and sign a new contract. He has got something to offer that is hard to find in the PL and he is entering the best period of his footballing career now. With Giroud still struggling to establish himself as our top CF, I would be prepared to start playing Theo more in the middle. He showed again against Reading what he is capable of and with either Gervinho, Ox, Podolski on the wing, Wenger has options to make it work.

However, we could do with another right winger, and I reckon Arsenal should go for Luciano Narsingh of PSV Eindhoven. The new Dutch International offers everything needed to make it at Arsenal. He is the classical winger: fast, likes to take on his opponents and gets past them easily, he has a good first touch and he is strong with a good balance.

Narsingh is known in Holland as the king of assists, but he also scores himself regularly. He is still young, but he is very good at deciding what the best option is when in full attacking flow: a quality so rare with the majority of wingers in the PL and across Europe.

I reckon Narsingh would fit into Arsenal without a problem, and although he won’t be cheap – PSV only just signed him this summer – he should be affordable. A strike-force of Podolski – Giroud – Theo –Ox- Gervinho and Narsingh would leave us with a number of attacking options which makes this Gooner lick his lips in anticipation.

Good right wingers are hard to find, and I reckon Narsingh could be the missing part in the attacking jig-saw for us. Sign him up Arsene!

Total Arsenal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsmaghI-Nv8&noredirect=1

22% of all Arsenal PL-goals come with a ‘Theo Walcott stamp’…

TotalArsenal

 

And that’s why we should try hard to keep him, if he indeed wants to stay with us.

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The Theo Walcott saga is still carrying on and threatens to undo all the good work over the summer, in terms of sorting out the squad early and focussing hard on team building. Arsenal somehow managed to start the season brightly and cohesively, despite the significant setbacks of losing the traitorous Dutchman and Alex Song so late in summer. But the ongoing contract shenanigans with our very own Speedy Gonzales could still throw a spanner in the works.

As posted last week, I rate Theo highly and I would love him to stay. The reasons for this are both the fact that he has become a major contributor to our goals scored over the last two seasons, and that the man is only 23.5 years old – his very best years are just around the corner. For more Theo background info see also: https://bergkampesque.com/2012/09/26/in-a-fluid-three-upfront-walcott-could-be-a-success-in-the-middle/

In 2010-2011, Theo had 9 PL goals and 7 PL assists in just 28 appearances. Arsenal scored a total of 72 goals that season, and so, 22% of all PL goals had a shiny ‘Theo stamp’ on them. In 2011-12, Theo had 8 goals and 8 assists in 35 appearances. Arsenal scored 74 goals that season and so, once again, 22% of all PL goals were either scored or made directly by the speedy Englishman. However frustrating Theo can sometimes be to watch, and despite some not insignificant shortcomings, theses figures are not to be ignored: they are bread and butter stats.

With the two other top providers of assists, Song and brave sir robin – who, as we all know well was also our, and the PL’s, top scorer last season – already gone, and the newly purchased attacking players needing time to settle in, we can ill afford to let Theo hang on like this – and stink the place out in the meantime.

This saga has been going on for far too long and it starts to reek of incompetence. I don’t want to sum up all the things that have been said by either Theo or Arsenal in this post. I am sure you are just as sick and tired about the whole thing as I am. But what is of vital importance now is that Theo is either signed up to a new contract asap, or he goes on garden leave till the start of the next transfer window.

We just cannot have a player coming on for the last 25 minutes in a crucial game that we are chasing against a major rival, who is not fully committed to the cause; or at least fully focussed on doing his best for our club. That is exactly what happened on Saturday and it is just not good enough.

I don’t really care who is to blame most for this anymore; whether it is the club totally mismanaging the contract negotiations or Theo being unreasonably difficult.

Only the club and Theo’s negotiators know the truth, and for us it will remain hidden. But what we can all see right in front of us is a player who is not playing enough to be able to deliver the goods for us. With an average of just 1.7 goals per game, we are not scoring enough goals in the Premier League at the moment, and we can ill afford to keep Theo in limbo/let Theo keep us in limbo.

But I will say this, unless Theo is being totally unreasonable about his demands for a new contract – and I, for one, am still prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt – the club should not dither any longer and sign him up. Arsenal needs Theo’s goals and assists this season, and on top of that, his PL-experience. We should be the ones who’ll see him play the very best years of his careers in the mighty red and white, and at the Home of Football.

If he wants to play in the middle of our attack, then that is possible in the current system of fluent/interchanging three attackers up-front. It would give Arsene a good plan-B, where his plan-A would continue to be an attack centred on Giroud in the middle (as a ‘holding striker’). I cannot imagine Theo demanding more ‘central striker guarantees’ than that, and I also doubt money is another key stumbling block.

But whatever the exact issues are re Theo’s current predicament, it is time to sort it out one way or another, so we can all move on and concentrate on the key football months ahead, and EVERYONE is singing from the same hymn sheet.

Total Arsenal.

Giroud on fire, statement of intent by Theo and the Russian is back!

TotalArsenal

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Yesterday evening’s game against Coventry will have strengthened Arsene’s believe he does not need to buy another striker; well, at least not for the time being. With goals from Arshavin, Giroud, The Ox, and Walcott (x2) there was ample proof Arsenal have plenty of attacking options.

Okay, Coventry is currently not the strongest opposition and it was a home game as well, but Arsenal hitting 12 times the net in their last two home games is a good sign of our potential up-front. In the game against Southampton Gervinho scored twice, and Podolski and Walcott scored one each. In previous away games against Liverpool and ManCity, Podolski and Cazorla got important goals; so all of our key attacking players are off the mark, and three attackers have already been on the score sheet three times in all competitions this season (Gervinho, Podolski and Walcott).

Obviously, Giroud will be relieved to have scored his first goal for Arsenal, but the missed penalty will still stick in his throat. Missing a penalty in front of 60,000 supporters, almost all willing you to score, cannot have been good for his confidence. But I reckon Arsene will play him against Chelsea on Saturday, as the fact that Giroud has scored his first goal now – and he also produced another assist yesterday – will weigh more than the missed penalty, in my opinion.

Theo was on fire yesterday and the two goals he scored were a strong statement of intent by him. It is not just the fact that he scored two goals but the way in which he did it that will get Arsene thinking again. Both strikes were more than a little reminiscent of TH14(12) goals from inside the box: they were taken with cool and calculated precision and were preceded by strong, fast, confident runs from well outside the box.

Arsene said last night: “I’m not against it [playing Walcott as a striker], I’m not against it at all but we try and at the moment there is big competition up front, we have a different formula and the team is doing well,”. The ‘different formula’ bit in this quote is probably what I alluded to in my post yesterday: our Plan A is to play with a strong and multi-skilled ‘holding striker’ up-front, and Theo is far less suitable for this.

The almost forgotten man, Arshavin, showed us all once again what he is capable off still, with a goal and two assists – and he also made a big contribution to our first goal. He looked eager to impress and played again with a smile on his face. It will still be hard for him to get back to regular first team play with the current level of competition surroundig him, but he is the kind of impact player Arsenal need on the bench this season.

All in all, a good night for all our not-automatic-first-team-choice-strikers and a strong sign we do not have to worry about whether we will score enough goals this season.

Total Arsenal.

In a ‘fluid-three’ upfront Walcott could be a success in the middle

TotalArsenal

If Arsenal can play Gervinho centrally and win games, there is no reason why Theo could not be successful in the central striker position.

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I am not sure what to think of Theo. I have been one of his biggest supporters during the last few years, as I admire both his incredible skills (and I am not blind to his shortcomings) and his mental strength (that young man has a very thick skin which has continuously helped him to shrug of periods of doubt and criticism in his developing years).

It is both a courageous and dangerous strategy by Theo to request a more central role at Arsenal when he is in his last year of his current contract. He says that money is not overly important to him and I tend to believe him. It seems that football itself is the main driver in his life, and his strong inner conviction that he should be a central striker at Arsenal appears to be overriding every other sentiment. I think this is courageous, and I applaud him for it.

However, it looks like he is unable to convince Arsene to play him more centrally and yet he is, apparently, making this a key condition for signing a new contract. This would be a very dangerous move by him.

Of all the top managers in the world, I have no doubt that Arsene is one of the most open-minded/democratic ones: always willing to listen to his players and consider new ideas. If Arsene is not convinced as yet, he definitely will not bow to the (indirect) threat of a player not signing a new contract for not getting the central striker position.

Let’s face it: bigger and better players have been allowed/forced to leave once Arsene realised they did not fit into his philosophy of football anymore, or simply were not singing from the same hymn sheet any longer.

When you are only 23.5 years old, it can be really hard to find the right balance between the inner passion/ the conviction about who you should be and what you should do, and the judgement and advice of wise old men (and women). I have been there myself around that period in my life and maybe that’s why I have some sympathy for him.

But let’s have a look at whether Theo in the middle could work at Arsenal.

For me, for a big part, this all centres on Arsene’s style of football and his preferred formation for Arsenal this season. Will Arsenal play with a central striker around whom we pivot our forward play, or will we play more and more with a ‘fluid-three’ up-front?

From the moment Arsenal announced we bought Giroud, I was convinced we would go back to the first half of the 2010-2011 season, when Brave Sir Robin was injured, and Chamakh played centrally; as a holding striker, which allowed the midfielders to both set up attacks better and score plenty of goals. During that period, Arsenal scored about 2.4 goals per game, compared to 1.95 goals per game since the traitorous Dutchman displaced the Moroccan (for the rest of that season and the following season).

I reckon Giroud is a better, more all-round striker than Chamakh and I could see us playing 4-5-1 football this season. Even when we play 4-3-3 there is a strong tendency now for our ‘wingers’ Gervinho and Podolski to sit deeper; often supporting their FB’s and the  three midfielders to make us more compact which allows for better pressing and passing around of the ball.

Giroud, although not properly used yet in this capacity, is the perfect pivot up front; the ideal ‘holding striker’, who can hold on to the ball and allow the midfield to both ‘bounce the ball off’ and come forward a bit more, in order to create the next attacking move and/or come close enough to the opponent’s box to score a goal themselves. He is also great in the air and with his feet, although we still have to witness his deadliness in front of goal, which I am sure will come soon.

I still believe this will be our plan-A and I don’t think Theo will have a chance in this sort of formation. In case of injury to Giroud, the likes of Podolski and Chamakh are better options.

However, if we were to opt more regularly for a fluid front three, I can really see Theo do well. In a fluid front three all players interchange with each other: one moment they are on the left or right wing, the other moment they are in front of goal or on the other wing. The attackers, or let’s call them multi-disciplined strikers, need to work closely together, and the longer they play like this together the better they become as an attacking machine.

With a ‘fluid-three’ up front we would not play with a typical pivot in the centre of attack, and therefore, different qualities are required of our multi-disciplined strikers. Gervinho and Podolski have already proven this season they have the versatility for it, and I reckon Theo would suit this as well. He can do wing-play, especially if space is not at a premium, he has a good first touch, he is a predator and finishes well in front of goal, and he has a great engine.

I don’t think this would suit Giroud very well, just as it didn’t/ doesn’t suit RvP very well. The man from Montpellier is a typical central striker, good at holding on to the ball, winning battles in the air and on the ground, laying off balls and finishing off chances himself.

So, let’s see what will become Arsenal’s Plan-A formation and whether there will be a future for Theo in the central striker position. Maybe we will get a strong indication if there is a future for Theo as a central striker by him starting in that position tonight. I hope he does, so he can show us all what he is capable off, and take his last chance to save his career at Arsenal.

Total Arsenal.

Impressive Remy Cabella a good replacement for Walcott?

TotalArsenal

 

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What is going on with Walcott at the moment?

Let me first of all say, I am a big fan of Theo. I don’t think he is the best winger we have ever had, but he certainly is a great player to have in our team. His stats over the last two seasons are impressive, both in terms of goals scored (24 in 84 games) and assists (22 in 84 games). Just have a look around and you will not find many wingers who do significantly better than him – especially if you compare him with other 23 year old wingers. Compare his stats with the former legends of Pires and Ljungberg and you will see he really has not been doing badly over the last two seasons.

Sometimes Theo is great and sometimes he is disappointing. Even top-top classic wingers like Robben and Ribery have off-games now and again, as the wings are difficult areas to constantly make a difference, and the opposition often chooses to eliminate the danger by doubling up. Every player needs confidence and full fitness to perform well, but if a winger is lacking in these areas it will show more than in any other on-field position.

Taking all the above into account, I would be really happy if Theo would sign a new contract and spend his best football years at our beloved Arsenal. His game will definitely develop further and he could easily become a core player in our team again. But, it does not look like Theo will be signing a new contract for us.

When it was not done before the closure of the transfer window, I was not worried about it at all. Both parties seemed to be saying they wanted a new agreement and it would all be sorted out soon. Three weeks later and Theo has hardly featured for Arsenal and it looks like Arsene has just about lost his patience with him. The signs are, unfortunately, strongly pointing towards an exit in January.

I reckon part of the problem is that Walcott compares his salary with those of similar players at Chelsea and the Manchester Clubs, and thinks he should be offered a better package. I cannot blame him for that, but neither can I blame Arsenal for drawing a line in the sand at the rumoured £75k per week, and for sticking to their pay-structure. I also don’t think he is worth more than that.

I have been thinking for a while who could be a good replacement for Theo and although I was able to muster a few names – Victor Moses, Adam Johnson, Afellay came to mind – none of them made me feel excited. But then, unexpectedly, whilst watching our CL game this week, I really became interested in Montpellier’s nr20: the 22 year old Remy Cabella. I have watched the second half against Montpellier again this week – just concentrating on him, and what an all round impressive performance he had on Tuesday.

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Cabella was a thorn in our side throughout the game. He was simply everywhere as he was not man-marked and clearly given a free role to wreak havoc. He has got a good first touch, great vision, excellent movement, technically very strong, and a fine passer of the ball. His audacious, bergkampesque chip over Mannone in the second half was a joy to watch; not just in terms of execution, but also for both seeing it and daring it. He also made a good run across our box, followed by a clean, low strike that just went wide in the first half.

Cabella has the potential to become the sort of footballer for whom people come to watch a game.

Cabella is 171 cm long, so quite small. You could say that he has a good height to become an Arsenal midfielder these days! He holds on to the ball really well, likes to track back and is not afraid to make a tackle. He has also got a great engine and is quite fast. His finishing still needs to improve a bit, as he lacked composure against us once or twice in front of goal, on Tuesday. Although, with three goals in five games this season, he might be starting to get this right as well.

He is not a typical, classical winger, but just like Gervinho and the Ox, he looks comfortable on the wings. He can take on a player and get past them by using his skills and tricks rather than relying on pure speed.

Anyway, it is a bit early still to say Cabella would make a good replacement for Theo, if he is indeed to leave. But let’s keep an eye on him and hopefully he will play again when Montpellier visits us at the Home of Football. Definitely a player worth watching over the next few months, and I would not be surprised at all if Wenger has already got plans in place to buy him.

Total Arsenal.