If you get angry when Arsene Wenger talks about transfers I am going to suggest that you look away now.
Despite some truly shocking performances in pre-season and struggling for long periods last campaign, Arsene Wenger seems convinced that Theo Walcott can still be a top level striker.
‘I believe [Walcott] has all the ingredients to become a great striker,’ said Wenger.
‘He has the quality of the runs, he is a very intelligent player and he’s a good finisher.
‘He’s not a great defender, so I believe to use his runs in the final third could be very efficient.
‘Scoring goals and playing there will give confidence and slowly convince him, maybe, he can be absolutely fantastic there.
The quotes come from the Daily Mail as Wenger was talking ahead of Arsenal’s tie against Manchester City on Sunday.
I get that Wenger has got to back his players, especially in public as talking down Walcott could potentially kill his career and maybe resale value if Wenger did decide to cash in. But it looks like Wenger’s comments indicate he will continue to play Theo as a forward and put faith in him throughout the season.
That’s good but the concern is that Arsene may not now invest in a new forward, something that is truly essential. In fact refusing to add a striker to this squad, considering Danny Welbeck’s injury is a sackable offence in my book.
What makes these comments extremely puzzling is the fact that Theo Walcott has come out publicly recently and said he wants to play on the wing again. Wenger says Walcott’s lack of defensive discipline is not good if he is to play as a winger, I agree, but he is also a terrible centre forward, especially in a formation which only accommodates one forward.
I think Walcott really lacks the confidence or intelligence to ever succeed as a world class number 9. I would love Wenger to be more ruthless and sell Theo, using the money to be reinvested in better players. Before Arsene says there isn’t, there are over 100 strikers better than Walcott at number 9, in my opinion.