Is Walcott’s contract one that Arsenal SHOULDN’T renew?
Speedster Theo Walcott has shown interest in a new contract at Arsenal, despite having been frequently linked to Juventus in the past fortnight.
The winger said, “I will listen to what Arsenal have to say… Hopefully we will sit down with the club soon and talk things over”.
The Englishman has played 14 games in all competitions so far this campaign, contributing one goal and four assists. This isn’t a spectacular return for a player adamant that he has what it takes to be Arsenal’s goalscoring machine through the middle. Admittedly, he is being played on the wing but one would still expect him to be able to cross the ball with more success than he is showing of late.
Having been signed from Southampton for around £5 million (rising with appearances), Wenger won’t want to lose him on a free at the end of the season but with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already looking to be more effective, he might be willing to let him go at the end of the season or at least to Juventus for around £10-15 million in what would be a terrific bit of business for the club.
However, after a summer in which “half the dressing room wanted to leave”, should Wenger instead be rewarding these sorts of committed players with the new contract they want? Vermaelen has shown his loyalty to the club and signed a new deal in the week, tying him down to four more years at the club. This news was a welcome sign of progress in terms of the ever-strengthening team spirit.
Should Wenger make a similar move with Walcott, regardless of the player’s wavering abilities?
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He better show some quality with his crosses and plays a 100% wherever Wenger palys him !!!
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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typical “we should probably get rid of him” nonsense mentality. He’s done A LOT for the club. Just cause he’s off form temporarily does not mean “off with his head”! I know you all have bad days sometimes maybe even bad weeks?(I know I do)So don’t kick the man while he’s down you judgmental hypocrites, unless you think you can do a better job as an Arsenal winger. Rest assured, Walcott will regain good form.
(also remember, it’s always nice to keep our English players)
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also, I’m glad all the whining idiots have crawled back to their pathetic holes in society. They only open their foul mouths when the team looses or draws and stay quiet when they win. They aren’t real supporters and are a disgrace to all loyal, patient, and humble football supporters worldwide.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Walcott as a person is a smashing lad. He has the attributes to be a good player too. But as a player he is woeful far more times than he is brilliant. His average isnt even good. He was wasteful and clueless again on Sunday.
I know its tough to say it, but we would be a better team without him. There is no point having a turbo legs if you have banana toenails.
Just look the assists of Gervinho by comparison. At least he knows what he is trying to execute. We can even see what he is trying to do. Walcott by comparison is generally hit and hope. He must frustrate Wenger no end.
When Walcott switches with Gervinho, Gervinho causes far more trouble on the wings and Walcott becomes totally ineffective as a central striker.
When they switch back, Walcott just becomes kick and rush again.
Anyway, after all that he will sign a new contract and we will be stuck with more lame performances.
Just remember when most are on Arshavin’s back for his weak performances, look at the other wing. They are generally just as bad there if not worse.
If Walcott was at United, he wouldn’t get in the team. Says it all. Although after yesterday he might
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^^^ Who would you propose he cross to? There is typically 0-1 players in the box looking for a cross.
Why would Wenger not extend his contract? Not giving him a new contract could result in a player easily worth 15-20m leaving for nothing at the end of his contract. Worst bit of business Wenger could possibly do at the moment.
Walcott is only 22! He has not even come close to showing what he is fully capable of. He has had a poor run recently granted but can you really see him being sold before Arshavin who has been consistently poor for quite a while? Walcott can also be listed under Wenger’s favorites (along with Rambo, Wilshere, and Szczesny) and is one of the least likely players to be offloaded in the near future. Wenger undoubtedly sees Walcott as vital to a successful Arsenal team of the future.
How can you possibly call into question Walcott’s commitment to the club based on Wenger’s statement? Is Walcott named anywhere in the comment about 1/2 the dressing room? Do you have any evidence to link Walcott to this 50% who wanted out? I didn’t think so. Why would you make a baseless claim like this?
Chamberlin although a fantastic prospect has only had 3 games this season. Hardly enough to warrant calling him a more effective player than Walcott.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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renew his contract, absolutely.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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@Jason no offence buddy but this is not a 4 x 200 metre relay that we are having here ! he makes a great run every time but he cannot keep the ball in the final third or even control or pass to a right person ! I am not saying that he is a bad player but I believe that we should extend his contract and send him out on loan so that he may get a chance to work on his positioning and control over the ball.
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When Theo joined Arsenal I looked at him as a superbly balanced athlete and had Arsenal written all over him.
Unfortunately he seems to lack basic footballing skills and if he doesn`t have them now he`ll probably never will.
He`s a Wenger protege and as such will hang around for a fair while. If the good fairy hasn`t waved her magic wand in the next season and a bit I`d let him go.
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Get your facts right before you say one goal.
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Perhaps we should be looking at Walcott + $$ for Eden Hazard, Play both Gervinho and Hazard on wings feeding RVP.
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can anyone tell me where is Oxlade Chamberlain? he has not injury as i know.
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I rarely criticize our players, but I’m running out of patience with Theo. It’s amazing how little that boy creates match after match… Sell him and bring in Hazard. Or give more playing time for Arshavin, Oxlade, Miyaichi and Ju! Enough is enough!
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Theo deserve a new contract but that does not mean I’d be opposed to selling him. He deserves a starting wing role but arsenal are not a header/aerial threat when going forward and Theo seems to have forgotten he can have a go to the end line an cut it back, which gerv has already figured out is van persie’s preferencial assist in short finishing. I hope Theo regains his form and makes me eat my words, bit I think arsenal would perform better with a dynamic play maker such as hazard, Douglas-costa, willian, dzagoev, eriksen, goetze ect. attacking. But Theo is only 22, give him some leeway and a couple more years
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Renew his contract, he is 22, not at his best yet. Sometime people forget that henry was around 27 or 28, but definitely not 22, when he became the king of highburry LOL. And Van Persie as his successor is 28 now.
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It intrigues me after so few performances how we can rate AOC at all.Walcott on the other hand has had more than enough opportunities to convince us of his qualities, and sadly he does not have what it takes to be a great player.He is lazy when it comes to helping the defence and his latest habit of falling over and appealing to the ref is childish.His options under pressure are poor ,his best contribution to the team is kicking the ball off a defenders legs for a corner. No sadly for me we should cash in and get some of our investment back.
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While I agree that Theo will not be sold, as he indeed is one of Arsene’s boys, I do believe that this is in and of itself one of the biggest problems. Theo is in a comfort zone. He really has not had anyone to challenge him for a place for a couple seasons now. He is also too well aware of his ability to out-sprint just about anyone. Together, these factors have allowed Theo to rest on his laurels. As a result, he has hardly developed any other side of his game, and the footballer who currently steps out on the pitch is but a half-decent one rather than a great one. I for one think Theo needs a long (3 games at least) relegation to the bench.
All of this moaning about wanting to be played central has had an adverse affect on his game for two reasons: (1) He drifts out of position so that he can try to get into central areas. While this does not help offensively, the real hurt comes in the fact that he leaves whoever is behind him out to dry defensively (I think we all agree that RB is a position that presently needs all the help it can get). (2) Because he is so convinced in his head that he can only play centrally, and it is his destiny to end up there, he gives himself a disincentive to work on his wing play. As such, he is unlikely to get any better –> unlikely to fulfill his potential –> unlikely to convince Wenger to play him centrally (a vicious circle).
Walcott will not and should not be sold. Walcott should stop being given special treatment, and told to plump his arse on the bench until he really shows he wants to improve. Right now he lacks the finishing to play centrally, so he needs to shove that talk, and take a good look at what he is actually contributing to the team.
As an aside, everyone really needs to stop treating Ox likes he is our savior and must be in our first 11. The lad has talent, and has managed to showcase it, but let us not forget that his impressive showings to date have come against a 4th tier club and a team that from the backwaters of European football who are destined for rock bottom of our CL group. He was just as anonymous against Man U (can anyone really say they even knew he was playing?) as he was impressive against the aforementioned sides. Ox will come good, but don’t smother the boy with unmeetable expectations.
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Hmmm, tough one, I’m on a 50-50 with walcott… Shown some promise but it’s his decision making. For all the moaning he’s claiming to be better through the middle wenger let’s players have the freedom though within a team positioning structure, walcott is much more effective when he runs diagonal from the wing ala Freddie Ljungberg, but he stay too much on the outside, one would’ve thought the boy could’ve figured it out by now, thus proving to all & wenger he can make the call on his own… Shame!!!
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Give him a new contract. New contracts do not mean you can’t sell.
My wish is that he improves because he is a good lad and also for his own sake. Its getting more and more dangerous for him with the likes of Oxo and Ryo coming up. I’m also not convinced he’s good enough to lead the line so he just make do with what he’s got.
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People forget that he is only 22 and is statistically very good, he has a decent goals/appearances ratio. Personally i think he is having a slight dip in form, when he starts playing well again all of you fickle fans will be singing a different tune.
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Walcott works hard for the gunners! I wish all the other players were loyal like he is. I believe that this loyalty should be rewarded. Use walcott as an example to reward such loyalty!
We moan when players leave arsenal when the club is down. Why should the club let walcott go when he down. Show the players that the club has the loyalty that we are expecting from the players
Walcott is quality, he will bounce back!
Gunners 4 Life
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arsenal should renew his contract.. that being said, i would want to see improvements.. he can’t cross the ball from the wing position.. i agree with what was said above that he’s lacking competition.. AOC is there, but he’s still 17.. we need some1 to push walcott more..
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No,Walcott should not be sold,if possible he should even stay in Arsenal for life.
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what a fucking bad headline ?. He is going to be our next Henry just wait and see
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We only have one game plan and the need for crosses has absolutely nothing to do with it so stop judging Walcott on whether he can or cannot do them properly.
If he was playing up front like he was before he came here we would be getting the best out of him.
If the lad renews then all credit to him, but I am starting to understand why players are wanting out.
Just because arsene took Henry from a winger and turned him into a striker does not mean he can mess around with every player and make it work.
He’s ruined Arshavin and Walcott, so what’s next Fabianski as striker??
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he hasn’t been playing well but he’s important player for arsenal
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he just dosnt improve talks the talk but………..out on loan?
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ε̲̣̣̣ sud b offered a new contract but ε̲̣̣̣ needs to raise his game
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Walcott has actually scored THREE goals in all competitions this year…
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ya know, i think he’s a brilliant sub, i would only want him to leave if we get an amazing replacement, like Jesus Navas, not Chamberlain.
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rewind to the start of the 2010/11 season when arsenal started the season on fire, Theo was part of the driving force behind that team. At that time we all talked about how he had improved and his finishing was world class. I dont think we are seeing the best of Theo but even then his presence is enough to worry many defenders. I think we should renew his contract.
By the way, the match at old trafford was cancelled yesterday and the fans had to watch “Six in the city”.
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just not his best time in football, but theo is one of our star players, i thick we have to keep him
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To Jason’s comment at the top.
I would be one of your “pathetic holes in society”.
Its not the i don’t love Arsenal or say bad things when we lose or draw, its constructive criticism.
From my view Theo has done good stuff for the club and i think we should keep him as he is a useful weapon, or what i like to call “a super sub”
On the Stoke game. Yes we won! but it was donw to Robin Van Persie AGAIN! we dont have another goal threat unless Park turns out to be good.
without RVP we could have drawn or lost, thats the frustrating thing. From the highlights i saw the players played awsome. But you cant help feeling the end of season table position would be very different without RVP.
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Walcott or Arshavin should go. So we can bring a winger who can cross balls. If we got a winger who can cross really good balls, think how good chamakh will be then. Chamakh isnt good with feet but he is good in the air.
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walcott just needs to work on a few
things such as crossing and finishing
he still the man for gunners
maybe its just one of those seasons where you
cant get going right away
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Sell him! please!
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In responae to Jason. Fans have a right to critique and complain when they are not happy with what was once a great first team. Support is not about blind allegiance to mediocraty. Never question other’s supports based on their differing views. Walcott? still has yet to convince me. Plays a couple of good games and has moments of menace but then spends a lot of time sprinting to the byline with predictability. Ashley Young would have been a better buy when he an Arsenal fan was at Watford.
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John @4.31 am,
Well said John. I agree with your every word. I have criticised his unmeasured crosses before but our receivers are partly to blame by not getting into position to match his speed. At 22 he still has much to learn and could well become a legend in our Club’s history.
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To Jason,
Just to rub it in your face mate we are all here.
If you think you are more a gooner because of your blinded faith in wenger and the man city mole Gazidis then you are one of the reasons we no longer have ambition for greatness.
Whether you like it or not we will be here good or bad and we will give our opinions so tough luck.
And one win on Stoke where we needed RVP to come on and save the day yet again does not mean everything is hunky dory.
AW and gazidis have brain washed fans like you into accepting a place in Europe as our ambition for this season.
Sorry mate but that is just not good enough.
Enough building for the future crap and lining the pockets of the shareholders.
It’s time to give the fans something back so win a trophy or get going Mr Gazidis and Mr Wenger.
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I’d cash in now if I were Wenger. He is not good enough to play the style of football Wenger likes to play. I’d also get rid of Arshavin and use the money to add a quality midfielder who can play wide ie: Nasri.
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The boy is a striker play him in his position as a striker first before critisising him…walcott can be a deadly striker like henry
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Walcott should be sold ,along with Arshavin,to Juventus with
a healthy profit to Arsenal ,the sooner the better ?
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Theos a quality player, selling him would be a mistake. Competition for his place might be what he needs to work harder, although I think he’s got the “im not playing where I want to be, so I can’t be bothered” mentality. Wenger needs to put ox on the wing, and Theo down the centre to see if he can prove his critics wrong.
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who was nani before last season? i’m not defending his recent performance but saying just that we should be more loyal to players who want to be loyal to us, at good times and at bad times.
he’ll come off age and then he’ll be consistent in his games. he may be not most skillful player but he has great pace,movement and finishing (which are quality of a good striker) and we all know he is not a winger
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A lot of commentators oh here and generally talk about Walcott with sentimentality rather than about his practicality.
It’s all very well mentioning that he’s only young and still learning the game however, even at 22 he should know the game a lot better than he does already. He didn’t just waltz into Southampton from the street and get a game. Like a lot of pro footballers he learnt his trade from a very early age through an academy and progressed in that tuition over a number of years to earn the title of professional footballer.
You could understand if it were a non league player (and even then that can be disputed as Jenkinson is looking every bit of a professional in the making) who has just walked in and had to hit the ground running !
Maybe the fault lay with Southampton maybe they couldn’t be bothered to nurture any talent that he did have and just made him a speedster which was perhaps then agreeable with how Southampton actually went about their football at the time i.e kick and run ! Nonetheless, basic awareness of his position on the pitch coupled with basic footballing attributes such as being able to pass the ball over five or ten yards, being able to cross the ball and have a least one trick in the bag to give yourself an advantage from a standing start should be common to all pro players.
Maybe…….playing him on the opposite wing in front of a left back might really do him some good as he has this natural urge to cut to his right which, on the right wing renders him useless as he runs out of pitch and in a cul de sac of his own making whereas, if he was on the left he would be naturally cutting in field and eventually heading more central which is where he wants to be. So even if he is potentially running into the heart of the oppositions defence he’ll at least have a 360 radius of space to work with and can still use his speed to either score, assist or even draw lots of fouls from nervous defenders.
The long and short of it….he’s got to start coming into his own soon and show everyone that he is not just a one dimensional player but a good all round professional capable of learning the game again if he has to and not rely on the sentimental support of Arsenal, Wenger and the fans.
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What Walcott should be sold and used OX? Come on Walcott is how old em,,, let be guess like RVP 28? em nope? he just 22, wait until 24-25 and see how he has improved then we just talking about selling him. Sign him for another 4 years whereas OX and Ryo admired him and learn from him, they could form a good friendship there and improved together. I’m not expect the OX will play much games even he is good, because if he does play more games Arsenal have to fork out another 5 millions on the games he has play. They will just keep the money and happy for him to improved in the reserve or during training.
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Don’t think we can let him go on a free he has so much potential. We would hate him to reach that potential at another club. give him a few more years and a 3year new deal with not much more money and tell him he’s got to earn it.
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He’s only 22. His development is slow but he will come good in the end. He still has plenty of time to improve. When someone compares you to Henry at the age of 16 it is a heavy burden. We are giving Aoc the same praise walcott had when he was young yet we want to rush Aoc like we did Walcott. He will get there in the end so Wenger should extend.
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overrated player! he has speed but no football brain. he should have learned a lot from others regardless his teammates or opponents. the difference between him and Gerviniho is Theo never look his teammates before cross. and year after year his run is more and more predictable. certainly in my opinion the broad wants to renew his contract as Theo is still co-representing Arseanl, but Theo may not want to stay. he has expressed himself well a lot of times that he wants to play in central although it won’t work for him either. after all it won’t be a loss for us as we have Ox rising up and also have other players can play as a right winger.
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