Wishlist Theo Walcott

[MIDOKA 28]

Would choose him over Moses any day...

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

No, he can't score. In his Arsenal history he only has 26 league goals, and he only got 11(In all comps) goals last year which doesn't say much about us if your stat is true, But i'd expect it to be far more next season regarding our players.

You're counting stats from years ago. No, Walcott couldn't score when he was 18 or 19, but he has 17 (non-penalty) goals in the last two seasons in the Premier League. That's fabulous for a winger. You know how many Chelsea players have done that? Just Sturridge. Walcott has scored more goals than Drogba, Torres, or anyone else in the same time frame and he's a winger and not the target man, the penalty taker, or the guy who takes free kicks for Arsenal. He's scored more goals than Garreth Bale or David Silva over the past two years. The only winger that has as many goals as Walcott over the past two seasons is Nani. You can't say "he can't score" when he objectively can.

(And the reason I use Premier League stats when possible is that it's a level playing field of comparison. Everyone plays against the same teams. The "all competitions" can be fine, but it can also be misleading. You look at say Torres and compare him to Walcott and say, well, they both had 11 goals in all competitions even though Walcott had 9-6 lead in the Premier League so they had similar scoring seasons. Well, Arsenal, like most teams, sit their starters against poor squads so Walcott started exactly 1 FA cup match and no Carling Cup matches all season and Torres started 5 FA Cup games and a Carling Cup match. Arsenal didn't quite have a Genk in their group, but the worst team they faced was Olympiakos and Walcott didn't play against them at all. So, Walcott's "all competitions" were much much tougher than Torres' who was scoring the bulk of his goals in the types of games that Walcott was rested in while Torres was sitting in the tough games. So, you're comparing one player playing Genk and Leicester and Birmingham to the other playing AC Milan, Marseilles, and Dortmund. It's not remotely comparable whereas if you're playing 30 games in the Premier League, you're going to be playing most of the same teams.

[Rahul Haque 57]

walcott is more proven then moses. he has a year left. a 10 million deal for walcott makes a heck lot more sense then moses.

wouldn't mind walcott if we don't get hulk. he's good enough to be a super sub and challenge for a first team place if a player is off form.

[Henrique 9,133]

Would choose him over Moses any day...

who said we have to choose between Moses and Walcott? we can have both.

[Jase 43,479]

walcott is more proven then moses. he has a year left. a 10 million deal for walcott makes a heck lot more sense then moses.

wouldn't mind walcott if we don't get hulk. he's good enough to be a super sub and challenge for a first team place if a player is off form.

Yeah but Walcott doesn't have a brain. At least Moses does. Walcott's one and only strength is arguably his pace. Give him the space to run into and he can cause havoc. Otherwise, he's pretty much a useless outlet out on the RW. Don't think he's skillful enough to beat his defender when opposition sit deep against him.

[Spike 12,049]

This rumour is really gaining pace. For Walcott, Chelsea is probably his only choice. Liverpool is sinking, Tottenham are even bigger rivals, Man Utd is very stacked on the wings and so is ManCity. It's all up to the club to decide, whether this guy is worth it. He has improved a lot over the past seasons, he isn't as brainless as people think.

Besides, he is a children's author and seems to a real nice guy. That doesn't really mean anything when it comes to football, I just thought I would mention it.

He always does well playing for Angle Land, anyway.

[Shane 2,275]

You're counting stats from years ago. No, Walcott couldn't score when he was 18 or 19, but he has 17 (non-penalty) goals in the last two seasons in the Premier League. That's fabulous for a winger. You know how many Chelsea players have done that? Just Sturridge. Walcott has scored more goals than Drogba, Torres, or anyone else in the same time frame and he's a winger and not the target man, the penalty taker, or the guy who takes free kicks for Arsenal. He's scored more goals than Garreth Bale or David Silva over the past two years. The only winger that has as many goals as Walcott over the past two seasons is Nani. You can't say "he can't score" when he objectively can.

(And the reason I use Premier League stats when possible is that it's a level playing field of comparison. Everyone plays against the same teams. The "all competitions" can be fine, but it can also be misleading. You look at say Torres and compare him to Walcott and say, well, they both had 11 goals in all competitions even though Walcott had 9-6 lead in the Premier League so they had similar scoring seasons. Well, Arsenal, like most teams, sit their starters against poor squads so Walcott started exactly 1 FA cup match and no Carling Cup matches all season and Torres started 5 FA Cup games and a Carling Cup match. Arsenal didn't quite have a Genk in their group, but the worst team they faced was Olympiakos and Walcott didn't play against them at all. So, Walcott's "all competitions" were much much tougher than Torres' who was scoring the bulk of his goals in the types of games that Walcott was rested in while Torres was sitting in the tough games. So, you're comparing one player playing Genk and Leicester and Birmingham to the other playing AC Milan, Marseilles, and Dortmund. It's not remotely comparable whereas if you're playing 30 games in the Premier League, you're going to be playing most of the same teams.

David Silva isn't a scoring winger, everyone knows that, and Walcott plays on the right of a 4-3-3, in the same role Anelka did, and you can go on about our wingers all you want, we know our wingers were shit. Now we have Hazard, Marin, De Bruyne, Sturridge and Mata. You want to talk about the league? Walcott has NEVER hit double figures in the league. That alone speaks volumes. You talk about 17 in the last 2 seasons, 3 of those goals came against Blackpool in their second Premiership game for god sake!

[Ollie 4,400]

Do you really think it's Moses or Wallcott? I personally don't think there's a cat in hells chance of Arsenal selling Wallcott to us but i wouldn't exactly mind him. He hasn't developed much considering he's been there so long tho. Moses might develop better and may be the better option. We shouldn't go for both, there'll be too many and most wont get enough games. Wallcott has too many bad games for his 5 or 6 very good ones.

[Spike 12,049]

I'd prefer Walcott over Moses, but there is a reason I'm not a scout for Chelsea.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

I'd prefer Hulk over all of them...

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

David Silva isn't a scoring winger, everyone knows that, and Walcott plays on the right of a 4-3-3, in the same role Anelka did, and you can go on about our wingers all you want, we know our wingers were shit. Now we have Hazard, Marin, De Bruyne, Sturridge and Mata. You want to talk about the league? Walcott has NEVER hit double figures in the league. That alone speaks volumes. You talk about 17 in the last 2 seasons, 3 of those goals came against Blackpool in their second Premiership game for god sake!

Walcott has never hit double digits in goals? So what? How does that speak volumes? Are you saying that any winger who does not hit double digits in goals by 23 is shit? You know how many wingers get double digits in goals a season? A couple maybe? Last season, only Sturridge did and he got 11. Double digit goals is not the threshold of a shit winger, it's the threshold of the best scoring wingers in the Premier League. None of Cole, Robben, or Duff ever hit double digits in goals. None of Bale, Nani, or Ashley Young have hit double digits, etc...It's like saying some 23-year old is a crap striker because they've never had 25 goals in a season.

You said "Walcott can't score" which is categorically wrong and unlike a debate about who the best defensive midfielder or keeper is or who the best tackler is, you can decide scoring ability very easily and objectively. It's simple. Walcott has 17 goals in the last 2 seasons in the Premier League and is tied for the highest scoring winger in the Premier League in that period. In other words, no winger in English football has scored more than Walcott over the past two seasons. How can you say "he can't score" when he has been THE BEST scorer at his position? And yes, he scored against Blackpool, but he also scored against Chelsea (4 goals in 6 starts against us in his career), ManU, Spurs, Newcastle, etc... (not to mention scoring and playing brilliantly against Barcelona- Messi said that he was one of the most dangerous players he'd ever played against) so it's not like his goals have all been bottom-feeding.

Walcott is a weird case because when he came into the league he was so over-hyped and overrated, he has since become underrated. People thought he was going to be a superstar but when they saw him play thought "really fast, has some good games but is too inconsistent and doesn't get results" and have never changed that opinion despite Walcott evolving and improving his game (improvement was not surprising given his age)

(And Anelka was not a full-time winger until recently. He was starting as the central striker in 08/09 (at least until Hiddink came) and then he moved mostly to the wing in 09/10 but still started plenty of games at striker because Drogba went away to the African Cup. So, yes, he scored 19 goals in 08/09 but he was our primary striker, and he scored 11 goals in 09/10 but he scored 5 of them when he was playing striker. He scored 6 goals last season as a full-time winger.)

[Kieran. 6,317]

I'd take Walcott + Moses if we can't get Hulk.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

I'd rather Jovetic over either/both of Walcott + Moses

[SeB 1,281]

Junior Holiett, and would be available on much lower wages i'd imagine.

Excuse me but though I'm an admirer of the player Junior Hoilett, it appears that the relegated Blackburn's Junior Hoilett can't agree financial terms with qualified for Champions League Borussia M'Gladbach for almost a month now

Good player but big sized ego and wage demands as well !

David Silva isn't a scoring winger, everyone knows that, and Walcott plays on the right of a 4-3-3, in the same role Anelka did, and you can go on about our wingers all you want, we know our wingers were shit. Now we have Hazard, Marin, De Bruyne, Sturridge and Mata. You want to talk about the league? Walcott has NEVER hit double figures in the league. That alone speaks volumes. You talk about 17 in the last 2 seasons, 3 of those goals came against Blackpool in their second Premiership game for god sake!

Not precisely the same role than Anelka, Anelka left his position to be central during games whereas Walcott eats the touchline chalk except than for cutting inside with a run.

You speak about this famous hat trick against Blackpool. If you consider the goal in itself rather than having a random conclusion about the opponent (Blackpool was excellent away, they got a man sent off early in that game, how can you announce a scoresheet with such different facts and events ?), you see that the 3 goals comes from pure strikers runs through the axis and the space

It's easy to whine on the plastic Walcott and his alleged crap confidence. Let's play on a wing since 19 with that much pressure. Of course it's enough to draw definitive conclusions about his potential as a central striker with a lesser role.

[Leif 6,006]

I'd love to have Walcott here.

With players like Hazard, Mata etc. here to help him, I'm sure he'd reach that obvious potential of his.

Also:-

WE HAVE NO ONE WITH GREAT PACE IN THE SQUAD AT THE MOMENT ASIDE FROM RAMIRES (unless I'm missing someone obvious).

Aside from the "lack of creativity" and "old squad" comments we would always get, "no pace" was the other.

Walcott is also unselfish which is so important from a wing position.

He's English too, and I do really feel strongly about us getting more English players.

Yes, it's all great and fine having a diverse club when it comes to nationalities, but we are an English club, and we should have more English players.

[Jase 43,479]

I'd love to have Walcott here.

With players like Hazard, Mata etc. here to help him, I'm sure he'd reach that obvious potential of his.

Also:-

WE HAVE NO ONE WITH GREAT PACE IN THE SQUAD AT THE MOMENT ASIDE FROM RAMIRES (unless I'm missing someone obvious).

Aside from the "lack of creativity" and "old squad" comments we would always get, "no pace" was the other.

Walcott is also unselfish which is so important from a wing position.

He may be unselfish but his inability to pick out the right final pass, making the right decision in the final third is the frustrating thing. As said before, his main strength now is just his pace. Until he starts thinking on how to utilize it and maximize it to its full potential, he will be nothing more than just an average player. He's too much of a one trick pony now.

He's English too, and I do really feel strongly about us getting more English players.

Yes, it's all great and fine having a diverse club when it comes to nationalities, but we are an English club, and we should have more English players.

Want to have English players at the club too but not just for the sake of having them. IF we want to buy English players, then fine but it's gotta be for the sake of the team and making sure it improves the team, not for the sake of having more Englishmen in the team.

[SeB 1,281]

WE HAVE NO ONE WITH GREAT PACE IN THE SQUAD AT THE MOMENT ASIDE FROM RAMIRES (unless I'm missing someone obvious).

Aside from the "lack of creativity" and "old squad" comments we would always get, "no pace" was the other.

You forget the one regarded by the man who coached Shevchenko as the quickest player he has ever seen. Daniel Sturridge

He may be unselfish but his inability to pick out the right final pass, making the right decision in the final third is the frustrating thing.

I wouldn't say that. His passing and assisting register is quite narrow but for short passes, short through balls and short crosses he's decent

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Seriously? Walcott? All pace and no footballing ability (especially no finishing) is that what we need? I'd honestly much rather Moses (even though I don't think we should sign him now either).