http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/football-paper-round-liverpool-eye-bony-104547190.html
Bony !!!
He scored another 2 today . 14 this season already .
Bony !!!
He scored another 2 today . 14 this season already .
This new striker in January
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He wants out of the Netherlands as soon as . His family keep being denied visas to visit him .
I thought that. What a strange way for them to put it!
Aye, smacks of a journo not doing his homework.
That is the video maker . It is NOT his nickname .
( They are bad though - African Hulk and Muscled Magician ) .
Phew thanks for that
I can see that but he has much better skill on the ball .
Why would you not want to see him going through the middle JJ.
I personally like the idea of he, Sterling and Luis switching around.
I don't think Suarez is best used as a central striker; he's more effective when he can pop up anywhere and come at the defense either left, right or through the middle.
Since Walcott can obviously play on the right and, I suspect, play through the middle, I could see the three of them working well together.
The comments about Eto'o are well made by others but I think it should be noted that Walcott plays for a team that sees most opposition sit back and protect their back line. Despite this he seems to get himself into space and in behind the defense a lot of the time. He's never going to be another Eto'o but that doesn't mean he won't be tremendously effective for us.
Arsenal will not sell Theo Walcott in January, insists Arsène Wenger
• Wenger vows to keep forward even if contract not signed
Theo Walcott scores Arsenal's fifth goal to round off a fine individual performance in his side's rout of Tottenham. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
The last thing Arsenal supporters would want after witnessing a comprehensive win over their most bitter rivals is news that could dampen their spirits, yet that is what has come to pass after Arsène Wengerrevealed after this match that even if Theo Walcott has not signed a new contract with the club by the end of the year he will not be sold in January, thus creating the possibility of the forward leaving Arsenal for nothing next summer.
Walcott's current deal expires on 30 June and he has still not agreed to an extension, with the player refusing to commit to a five-year contract worth £75,000 a week and holding out for one that would see him earn £100,000 a week.
Wenger has stated his desire for the stand-off to be resolved "one way or the other" before Christmas, leading to the assumption that should Walcott not have committed to Arsenal by then he would be sold during the next transfer window, with Liverpool consistently linked with the 23-year-old.
But, asked after Arsenal's 5-2 win over Tottenham – during which Walcott assisted Per Mertesacker's opening goal for the hosts before scoring their final one himself – if the England international would be sold in January if an agreement had not been reached by then, Wenger said he would not. Then, asked if that meant Walcott would be staying until the end of the season, the Frenchman said he would.
It was a firm stance from the Arsenal manager but this is a situation that can quickly slip from his control given Walcott would be free to speak with overseas clubs in regards to signing a pre-contract agreement on a Bosman transfer if he is not tied down to a new deal in the next two months. And if that did not occur, he could join whoever he wished for free in July.
Walcott's departure would not leave Arsenal fans in despair – he is no Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fábregas or Robin van Persie – but it would still frustrate them to see no financial return on a player they paid Southampton an initial £5m for in 2006 and who is now worth double that, and be deemed as another example of the club's cack-handed approach to managing their better players.
"I hope Theo signs [a new contract]," said Jack Wilshere. "We know what Theo brings; he's got pace, he can go behind, and his movement and timing is probably the best around. He can play anywhere up front but wants to play down the middle, and I think he will get his chance. He just has to be patient."
In that regard, Walcott did not do himself many favours against Spurs. He was a constant threat from the right wing, with his cross for Mertesacker's 24th-minute header expertly executed. Walcott also played a key role in Santi Cazorla's strike on 60 minutes that made it 4-1 to Arsenal, but prior to scoring his ninth goal of the season the player twice failed with good opportunities to test Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal. Little wonder, then, that Wenger again questioned his ability to be Arsenal's principal striker.
"You have situations where the goalkeeper kicks the ball out and [Olivier] Giroud flicks the ball on or controls it on his chest – things Theo is not capable of doing," he said. "He is a different type of player."
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That's an interesting assessment from Wenger. If by "flicking" he means knockdowns and such, then it says more about Wenger's particular vision of what his centre-forward should look like, then any possible Walcott's limitations. Some strikers fight for position with a defender and try to "flick" to a teammate - strikers like Drogba, Adebayor, Carroll, Berbatov and Giroud (also Torres who never actually wins the ball, but sometimes gets fouled). Other equally successful strikers try to look for space and rarely engage a CB directly. Walcott is clearly a latter category. But apparently Wenger has to have a target-man as his #9. Come to think about it, he did buy a number of typical target men over the years - Kanu, Adebayor, Shamakh, now Giroud. But none of them worked out as well as the converted wingers who don't really do "flicks": Henry and RVP. I just don't understand Arsene sometimes.
I hope we don't purchase him for that position. Didn't we sign Cole to play in the middle, and quickly shift him out wide when we realised he wasn't up to it.
You'll obviously never learn
Walcott is definitely better playing on the wing than through the middle. I don't know why he thinks he's good enough for the middle for. he gets more space when he plays wide and cuts inside. I don't think he's a good enough finisher to play predominantly through the middle. Nor is he that good at holding up the ball.
Exactly. The common solution on here is that we should push Suarez (who is top scorer in the league, nearly a goal a game, and is scoring for fun) out wide, into a more creative position, let him score less goals, and then hope the new super striker hits the ground running. I think people proposing this are mental.
I'd suggest we buy a quality wing forward that can score goals (someone like Walcott, but who wants to play wing forward) and then some sort of cheaper, young prospect for upfront, or an older player on the cheap, that used to be ace.
Buying a great striker, who might not work out (see downing who was great for his last club in the same league and shit for us) and pushing Suarez out of position to accommodate him is a clusterfuck.
As I already suggested further back in the thread, you don't buy someone to play up top *instead of* Suarez. You buy someone who can play up there with him, ahead of/behind/around him as the gameplan and/or circs.on the pitch make necessary. Brilliant as he is, we can't keep relying on him alone to make everything happen in front of goal.
Wizardry, the question you pose at the start of your most recent post above is contained further down within it. You say you "suspect" Walcott could play through the middle. Considerable though my respect is for you and others in this thread who have suggested the same, that's simply not enough for me. For the money he'll cost both in fees and in wages - money which we literally cannot afford to waste - I want a proven central striker, not someone who has failed to persuade a judge of attacking players as good as Wenger that that's his best position and has never been played there for any length of time.
Wizardry, the question you pose at the start of your most recent post above is contained further down within it. You say you "suspect" Walcott could play through the middle. Considerable though my respect is for you and others in this thread who have suggested the same, that's simply not enough for me. For the money he'll cost both in fees and in wages - money which we literally cannot afford to waste - I want a proven central striker, not someone who has failed to persuade a judge of attacking players as good as Wenger that that's his best position and has never been played there for any length of time.
Exactly, why would we move suarez from a position where he is scoring goals for fun, it would be crazy. We need forwards who can feed off him from the wider positions, not shove him out wide to accomodate a striker. Plus even though he's done the square root of f**k all we still have Borini who was bought as a striker to come back.
We have the best striker in the league, why buy someone who'll sit on the bench?
How about we sign someone who plays as a wide forward and who can also provide cover centrally if needed, someone like the free scoring Walcott.
Spot on. We should not be looking at spending top dollar on an out and out striker. We could do with convincing Walcott that playing wing forward would be a great idea. I can't see him having it though, he can stay at the arse and do that.
Nope, I'm sure he can do a decent enough job though, considering he'll be third choice for that position behind Suarez and Borini, that'll be sufficient.
I'm still sure his issues at Arsenal are because he plays as a wide midfielder, I'm sure playing here as a wide forward will make a big difference. I've got nothing to base this on except for a feeling and I think he's unhappy for more reasons than not playing upfront, maybe being a Liverpool fan could help convince him also.
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