Theo Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton back in 2006. He was one of the brightest young prospects in the English game and clearly still is. Since he joined the Arsenal he has nearly always been used on the right hand side of a three man attack. He's been playing on the right wing for a couple of years now, but I believe it is clear that he is better suited playing alongside Robin Van Persie up front.
He is a clinical finisher as he proved last season. He scored 13 goals in 38 appearances, a very good record for a winger. He also set up 10 goals for his team-mates, which was an area of his game he needed to work on. It is also clear to see that Walcott has blistering pace. He can make full backs look stupid with his pace and I believe his pace would be a potent weapon when playing as a striker. He would torment the centre back's especially in the Premier League where none of the centre backs are equipped with serious pace. I see him playing a Michael Owen role up front and I strongly believe he would be successful playing alongside someone as intelligent as Robin Van Persie. They would compliment each others games well and im sure they would both benefit from playing alongside each other.
Robin Van Persie had an outstanding second half to the season, and he is capable of continuing in a similar fashion for next season. He is one of the best strikers around and would only benefit by having Theo playing alongside him next season. Obviously for Theo to play up front it would mean a change in formation from Arsene's favored 4-2-3-1 to a traditional 4-4-2. If Fabregas does leave, it is very likely we would switch to a 4-4-2 anyway as Cesc is the reason we have been playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It suits the Captain perfectly but if he does stay I still believe he would be outstanding in a 4-4-2 formation. Playing alongside the combative Jack Wilshere, Cesc would still be able to play in an attacking role as Jack clearly doesn't mind playing in a more defensive role. Also if we have Samba, Cahill and Vermaelen in our defence we don't really need someone like Song protecting the back four.
I don't expect Wenger to use a 4-4-2 formation in every game but I believe he will switch between the two formations throughout the season. After all when he signed Theo, he said he saw him as a striker and Theo himself has said he would prefer to play up front in the future as it is his favourite position. If Theo is used up front regularly, there will be plenty of competition for the right sided midfield spot at Arsenal, especially with the signing of Gervinho looking very likely.
No comments:
Post a Comment