Walcott

[The Username]

Gold when he starts and fit. Came good in the final few games in Arsenals season. Hes in my initial draft - but cant help shake this nagging feeling that he isnt nailed on, given his limited mins when fit and Arsenals depth in the variety of positions he plays.

The risk and reward to this one could be huge.

Be interested to hear peoples thoughts?

Be Brave or Bin?

[helmethead]

I fully expect him to start the CS on the left with Giroud up top as I doubt Sanchez will be fit for that game. He probably should similarly start GW1 but after that it becomes a bit murky as Sanchez should be fit sooner rather than later and there is also Ramsey and the Ox all fighting for that position. Of course Walcott could be used up front, although I personally think this is unlikely for all but the easier games. All in all, I expect him to start more often than not but he is likely to see some rotation. I think I am going for him as even if he misses the odd game, he is still explosive when he does play, though will be watching pre-season with interest.

[Hotchilidamo]

I've always fallen into the Walcott trap before and then he's not selected. Great option when playing but not a safe option which is what I would want at that price

[Vsz]

I fully expect him to start the CS on the left with Giroud up top as I doubt Sanchez will be fit for that game. He probably should similarly start GW1 but after that it becomes a bit murky as Sanchez should be fit sooner rather than later and there is also Ramsey and the Ox all fighting for that position. Of course Walcott could be used up front, although I personally think this is unlikely for all but the easier games. All in all, I expect him to start more often than not but he is likely to see some rotation. I think I am going for him as even if he misses the odd game, he is still explosive when he does play, though will be watching pre-season with interest.

I'm going to start with him as I reckon he'll start the first couple of games (I also have Giroud) but will be looking to take one/both of them out before too long most likely once Sanchez is fit (and Welbs...).

[Mav3rick]

I'll start with Walcott and see how things go, he's too good to ignore when fit and starting games. Sterling in for GW4 is a good get-out, or downgrading to one of Ozil, Cazorla or Ramsey.

[Vsz]

I'll start with Walcott and see how things go, he's too good to ignore when fit and starting games. Sterling in for GW4 is a good get-out, or downgrading to one of Ozil, Cazorla or Ramsey.

Yeah exactly - I'm looking at Walcott to Silva/Sterling for that week, along with getting Aguero in.

Will plan ahead carefully by getting someone a little cheaper using my first xfer most likely, and try to ensure I rollover so have 2 xfers for GW4.

[Le Red]

His lack of minutes is directly related to his injuries and lack of form. I can hardly see him being dropped when he's fit and on form.

[RichardVHarris]

I honest feel that Theo was built for Fantasy Football as his assist/scoring record is phenominal. It's all about his fitness but I would be tempted to take a punt on him for the first couple of weeks.

(mind you it wouldn't be the first time I've done that with Theo and its not worked so fool me once, shame on Theo, fool me 4 times and counting, shame on me)

[Jason Bourne]

His lack of minutes is directly related to his injuries and lack of form. I can hardly see him being dropped when he's fit and on form.

Walcott was fit most of last year and rarely got into the team. He doesn't make the first 11 with everyone healthy.

[asm_fanz]

I honest feel that Theo was built for Fantasy Football as his assist/scoring record is phenominal.

Myabe he's just built for football then

[Billy Bongo]

His lack of minutes is directly related to his injuries and lack of form. I can hardly see him being dropped when he's fit and on form.

Walcott was fit most of last year and rarely got into the team. He doesn't make the first 11 with everyone healthy.

Nonsense two times over

[Terry Henry]

He's in my team along side Cazorla.

[Jason Bourne]

His lack of minutes is directly related to his injuries and lack of form. I can hardly see him being dropped when he's fit and on form.

Walcott was fit most of last year and rarely got into the team. He doesn't make the first 11 with everyone healthy.

Nonsense two times over

Nope, he was available for 25 PL games and started maybe 5 of those. Wilshere and alexis are first choice on the flanks with Giroud as the point.

[Billy Bongo]

Sorry that's just plain wrong. Wilshere first choice on the flanks? What? Wenger publicly said Walcott would be eased in and he would need time , and wouldn't rush him back. What do you know Wenger didn't? Can you stop guessing please

[JLH]

Nope, he was available for 25 PL games and started maybe 5 of those. Wilshere and alexis are first choice on the flanks with Giroud as the point.

Available and returning from injury is two different tings. Wilshere first choice on the flanks?! Obviously not a gooner..

[Mav3rick]

@JLH - your avatar made me think I was going slightly mad

[JLH]

@JLH - your avatar made me think I was going slightly mad

Alexis has that effect

[Bertie64]

Nope, he was available for 25 PL games and started maybe 5 of those. Wilshere and alexis are first choice on the flanks with Giroud as the point.

Utter rubbish.
He came back in November and then had a widely publicised setback during training with the England squad.
At best he was probably actually available for 17/18 games and fit/ready to start 14/15.

[Jason Bourne]

Sorry that's just plain wrong. Wilshere first choice on the flanks? What? Wenger publicly said Walcott would be eased in and he would need time , and wouldn't rush him back. What do you know Wenger didn't? Can you stop guessing please

Who is guessing? Wilshere on the flanks isn't new, he's repeatedly been played there over the past two years, his best performances for arsenal have come from there and he's started preseason playing RW.

RE:Walcott How long do players get "eased in" for!?! 7 months he was on the bench and the team didn't miss him. Why are you assuming he walks into the team this season when he couldn't last season?

[Hotstepper]

Walcott still has unresolved contract issues, and Wenger is a stubborn so and so. If he doesn't think the shape of his team is best served with Walcott in it then he'll bench him. He's in my starting team, but I spent spells of last season thinking surely he'll play this one and time after time he didn't.

[Jason Bourne]

Nope, he was available for 25 PL games and started maybe 5 of those. Wilshere and alexis are first choice on the flanks with Giroud as the point.

Utter rubbish.
He came back in November and then had a widely publicised setback during training with the England squad.
At best he was probably actually available for 17/18 games and fit/ready to start 14/15.

That is complete nonsense arsenal had no reason to keep him on the bench if not fit.

[NoEyeDeer]

Nonsense two times over

Sorry that's just plain wrong. Wilshere first choice on the flanks? What? Wenger publicly said Walcott would be eased in and he would need time , and wouldn't rush him back. What do you know Wenger didn't? Can you stop guessing please

Available and returning from injury is two different tings. Wilshere first choice on the flanks?! Obviously not a gooner..

Utter rubbish.
He came back in November and then had a widely publicised setback during training with the England squad.
At best he was probably actually available for 17/18 games and fit/ready to start 14/15.

+4

Sorry Mr. Bourne, but nothing you have said in this thread makes any sense.

Bertie64 is probably the closest to being factual and correct, and you can add that Wenger was easing in a star asset with a history of injuries and re-injurying himself when returning from an injury.

[Jason Bourne]

Nonsense two times over

Sorry that's just plain wrong. Wilshere first choice on the flanks? What? Wenger publicly said Walcott would be eased in and he would need time , and wouldn't rush him back. What do you know Wenger didn't? Can you stop guessing please

Available and returning from injury is two different tings. Wilshere first choice on the flanks?! Obviously not a gooner..

Utter rubbish.
He came back in November and then had a widely publicised setback during training with the England squad.
At best he was probably actually available for 17/18 games and fit/ready to start 14/15.

+4

Sorry Mr. Bourne, but nothing you have said in this thread makes any sense.

Bertie64 is probably the closest to being factual and correct, and you can add that Wenger was easing in a star asset with a history of injuries and re-injurying himself when returning from an injury.

Lol what I'm saying makes perfect sense. Your lack of comprehension is your problem.
The "easing in a star asset" argument doesn't hold water. Wilshere and Walcott both have long injury records and are prone to re-injury. Wilshere gets into the teams simply because he's a better footballer.

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/player/67507/th ... eason=2014
http://www.espnfc.co.uk/player/122089/j ... eason=2014

Walcott
Appearances on bench - 25
Games started - 4
Unused sub - 11
Subbed on - 10

Wilshere
Appearances on bench - 17
Starts - 9
Unused sub - 3
Subbed on - 5

In Walcott's 4 league starts two were from RW and two from center forward.
Wilshere started one game as a #10, Six games as a CM in a 4-1-4-1 and two games as a RW in a 4-2-3-1.

Wenger is always eager to accommodate wilshere into the team. Not so much with walcott.

[helmethead]

Just to add my 2 cents worth on this. Yes Walcott has been technically fit for around half a season. However, he had just come back from a potentially career threatening ACL injury. This type of injury can have permanent impacts particularly on a players speed - this is especially pertinent for a player such as Walcott where his speed is his primary facet. My opinion on this is that Wenger has been particularly careful in getting him back into the team because:

a) He does not want a recurrence of the injury - which would be disastrous
b) there is a mental side when coming back from a long term injury - Walcott may not go in 100% in terms of both challenges and running speed, which at this level could drastically reduce his performance.

Wenger will have wanted to be absolutely sure that he is ready both physically and mentally before starting him, which didn't appear to happen till the end of last season. He gave him a lot of short sub appearances (getting progressively longer) at the end of games which is exactly what you would want to do when trying to assess if a player is ready for first team football and to get his match sharpness up. It also helped that Wenger had a number of players who were playing well such that he did not need to rush Walcott back.

My opinion is that Wenger now thinks Walcott has fully recovered from the injury which is why he started him in the last game of the season and the FA cup final.

Please note this doesn't necessarily mean he is first choice, I am just giving reasons why he may not have been first choice last season.

Jason Bourne, are you thinking about Ramsey rather than Wilshere as Ramsey played on the right a fair amount at the end of last season (other than the last 2 games where Wilshere played there)?

[Sammy the Crab]

The bottom line is that he's not a good long term option as when Arsenal are fully fit he doesn't get in to the front four ahead of Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez and Giroud. Wenger has also shown that he prefers to use the likes of Welbeck for certain games where he needs a winger who will track back and work harder. Add in competition from Wilshire, Ox, plus any new signings and it's blatantly not a good move.

If you're looking short term though he's possibly a decent option whilst Sanchez is out.

[NoEyeDeer]

Just to add my 2 cents worth on this. Yes Walcott has been technically fit for around half a season. However, he had just come back from a potentially career threatening ACL injury. This type of injury can have permanent impacts particularly on a players speed - this is especially pertinent for a player such as Walcott where his speed is his primary facet. My opinion on this is that Wenger has been particularly careful in getting him back into the team because:

a) He does not want a recurrence of the injury - which would be disastrous
b) there is a mental side when coming back from a long term injury - Walcott may not go in 100% in terms of both challenges and running speed, which at this level could drastically reduce his performance.

Wenger will have wanted to be absolutely sure that he is ready both physically and mentally before starting him, which didn't appear to happen till the end of last season. He gave him a lot of short sub appearances (getting progressively longer) at the end of games which is exactly what you would want to do when trying to assess if a player is ready for first team football and to get his match sharpness up. It also helped that Wenger had a number of players who were playing well such that he did not need to rush Walcott back.

My opinion is that Wenger now thinks Walcott has fully recovered from the injury which is why he started him in the last game of the season and the FA cup final.

Please note this doesn't necessarily mean he is first choice, I am just giving reasons why he may not have been first choice last season.

Jason Bourne, are you thinking about Ramsey rather than Wilshere as Ramsey played on the right a fair amount at the end of last season (other than the last 2 games where Wilshere played there)?

+5

[Bertie64]

Lol what I'm saying makes perfect sense. Your lack of comprehension is your problem.
The "easing in a star asset" argument doesn't hold water. Wilshere and Walcott both have long injury records and are prone to re-injury. Wilshere gets into the teams simply because he's a better footballer.

Most of Wilshire's figures in your post come from the first dozen or so weeks of the season before his injury, and when Walcott was ruled out.
When Walcott was first brought back to the bench Wilshere didn't even make the squad for 2 or 3 games.

They were both eased back in to the side.
Wilshire was only coming back from a very minor second operation in February and was given a few weeks more than reported.
Walcott's injury was much more sever and I can't believe anyone with internet access during the period would be unaware of the zillions of tweets, comments, press conferences etc.. that referenced the fact he would be used sparingly.

The other thing to bear in mind is that Arsenal were pretty comfortable in the majority of games for the last 3 months of the season. I think we only lost 1 and drew a couple, a lot of the time we were 2 or 3 goals up and there was no real need to risk him. The league was fairly sorted by that point anyway.

Wilshire is a great player but if you think he will start more than 3 out of 5 GW's this season then good luck to you.
Theo's competition does not come from him anyway.

But look, apart from the nonsense about Wilshire being the better footballer, I agree that until the season starts there has to be some concern about Theo's game time.
The squad has moved on significantly since he was injured and none of us really knows exactly how, or how much, he will be used this season.
There is real competition for every attacking place in the squad and, if the transfer deals are not over yet, this is only likely to increase.

In the absence of a fully fit Alexis I'm probably going to start the season with Walcott and Cazorla and see where things go from there.

[helmethead]

The bottom line is that he's not a good long term option as when Arsenal are fully fit he doesn't get in to the front four ahead of Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez and Giroud. Wenger has also shown that he prefers to use the likes of Welbeck for certain games where he needs a winger who will track back and work harder. Add in competition from Wilshire, Ox, plus any new signings and it's blatantly not a good move.

If you're looking short term though he's possibly a decent option whilst Sanchez is out.

Sammy, I think its probably too early to tell whether he is a good long-term option or not, I really do not believe that we can tell much from last season given Walcott's injury. I agree though that there is a lot of competition so he is certainly a risk, especially as it is unclear whether Sanchez will be out at all.

[Vsz]

The bottom line is that he's not a good long term option as when Arsenal are fully fit he doesn't get in to the front four ahead of Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez and Giroud. Wenger has also shown that he prefers to use the likes of Welbeck for certain games where he needs a winger who will track back and work harder. Add in competition from Wilshire, Ox, plus any new signings and it's blatantly not a good move.

If you're looking short term though he's possibly a decent option whilst Sanchez is out.

Sammy, I think its probably too early to tell whether he is a good long-term option or not, I really do not believe that we can tell much from last season given Walcott's injury. I agree though that there is a lot of competition so he is certainly a risk, especially as it is unclear whether Sanchez will be out at all.

I think that if there's a good time to get him in, it's now. I do think Sanchez will take 3 weeks to get up to speed and Theo should be fully fit so take the chance now, take him out if required, then possibly get him in again in the future if one of Sanchez/Giroud get injured.

[NoEyeDeer]

I'm no Arsenal expert, but I think the only other player that can match a fully fit Walcott for explosive pace and goals is Sanchez, so despite the wealth of attacking talent they have to pick from, I'm struggling to see how they leave him out of any starting 11 combination.

I honestly think Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshire and Cazorla are more like for like players, and as such are probably more prone to rotation once everyone is fit and firing. Of course you also have Coquelin as more your holding type, but I think Ramsey and Cazorla have shown enough to play that role ahead of him if need be.

If I was an Arsenal fan, I'd be happy to see a 4-3-3 with Giroud flanked by Theo and Sanchez, and any three of Ozil, Wilshire, Cazorla and Ramsey behind them in the middle.

Or perhaps a 4-2-3-1 with Giroud supported by Theo, Ozil or Cazorla and Sanchez, with two of Ramsey, Wilshire and Coquelin in the deeper holding roles.

Of course this is all speculation, but my point is I see Walcott in any starting combination.