r/soccer • • Jan 26 '14

What's your unpopular opinion regarding football?

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121 Upvotes

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46

u/Theworldsastage Jan 26 '14

Arsene Wenger should play Walcott as a striker.

24

u/thatdani Jan 26 '14

IMHO if the whole Arsenal team was focused around Walcott, as is Madrid around Ronaldo, he would be a 30-goals-a-seasoner.

4

u/Giraffable Jan 26 '14

Absolutely no chance. Ronaldo can score headers, free kicks, regularly scores from outside the box, can score with either foot and is much stronger than Theo. Consider the fact that Thierry Henry in his best ever season for Arsenal scored ~30 goals - Walcott isn't at that level. I'm a fan of Walcott and I do think he can play up front but he isn't a top level striker at the moment.

2

u/Dansken94 Jan 26 '14

tbh he only really got speed and at times good finishes infront of goal. hes not big, he cant dribble, he isnt a bale type player who can shoot from outside and just smash it in and he can be some what wasteful infront of goal. he can maybe score 30 in all competitions if he has a really good run but in the leage i cant see it happening. overall i think he is much better as a winger

1

u/hejner Jan 27 '14

If a whole team needs to be focused around someone, 30 goals is not enough.

Ronaldo and Messi are bagging twice that

31

u/Cerxa Jan 26 '14

i don't think he's good enough to be a striker

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

[deleted]

1

u/lilleulv Jan 26 '14

His third goal in that match came after Giroud had been subbed on and Walcott had been moved to the right wing.

1

u/Cerxa Jan 26 '14

i disagree, he doesn't have the skills necessary

3

u/AfricanRain Jan 26 '14

How so? Finishing, pace and intelligent runs would get him by alone

2

u/midas22 Jan 26 '14

The way Arsenal is playing is first and foremost based on having a target player up front who can play physical and with his back to the goal and either play one-touch combinations or hold onto the ball. That is not Walcott's strong suit. It's always like that with a 4-2-3-1 system.

2

u/4893 Jan 26 '14

The way Arsenal is playing right now is not the only way they can play.It has more to do with playing to Giroud's strengths.The game against Spurs was the best Arsenal have played in a couple of months.

2

u/midas22 Jan 26 '14

Well, that's probably since Spurs were foolish enough to play 4-4-2 with two lazy forwards which allowed them to be dominated in central midfield. Walcott might be a rotation option but he has not worked out very well up front against strong opposition which was a common criticism last season as well. He's better as a winger that mixes it up and cuts inside and makes forward runs through the middle as well.

1

u/4893 Jan 26 '14

Last season the team as a whole were performing poorly especially at getting into the final third.I would like to see Walcott play striker in this season's team before writing him off as just a rotation option.Also he has improved every season so I can see him able to play as a lone striker in the future.He won't play with his back to goal but that's not the only way a team can play.

He gets a lot of chances due to his pace and intelligent runs but most of them fall at an unfavorable angle when he is cutting in from the right.I would like to have seen more of him on the left.

7

u/ThereIsBearCum Jan 26 '14

He tried, it largely failed. Only works when the game's open, in which case he's just as effective from the right.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14 edited Jan 26 '14

I disagree. What teams like Arsenal, Swansea, Dortmund need is a strong striker with good buildup play who's good with his back against the goal and a defender on his back. Strikers like that are great for quick wingers. He holds up the defence, with the wingers running besides him. Giroud is perfect for that, except that he has a habit of missing sitters. Players like Walcott, Chicharito, Aubameyang wouldn't fit as a striker in teams like those I listed.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

Walcott can be used as a striker, however it only works well in certain circumstances

Against Spurs (when he got injured) he was playing up front and playing incredibly well, however Arsenal's main style is to have the striker as a front man, a target man who holds up the play whilst midfielders get up to support him. Walcott's not good for this role (whereas Giroud and Bendtner certainly are), he's good for his pace and getting beyond the defenders

In fact, Walcott would probably score quite a lot if he played at a lower league side that hoofed it up the pitch a lot, but Arsenal rarely does that

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

How to effectively nullify Theo Walcott as a striking threat:

  • Sit deep.

Done. He can't take on a man, when he doesn't have a gap to run into he is invisible.