Also one has to remember that by the time Theo first started playing football outside of school, most kids have been in academies for 4-5 years. You can improve certain skills as an adult player, but very few players lacking in elements of advanced technique develop in those areas significantly. Mostly they get stronger, slightly quicker, better in their decision making etc. Harry Kane is the only English player I can think of in recent years who has seen a marked year on year improvement in technique, and a large part of that has been an absolute stellar fitness regime, allowing himself to push himself more than most.

In a different team with a different system, Theo could have scored a lot of goals (like a smoother less aggressive Vardy), but our team wouldn't have been as good. Another major factor has been injuries at crucial times, that not only interrupted progress and form, but made him fearful and tentative at times. A real shame that when he finally started to re-discover the requisite bravery and aggression in the first half of last season, he then got injured, and then we changed formation, and now he seems to have just hit the very start of his pace diminishing. (Still very quick, but not un-catchable like he was).

Still - a member of the 100 club despite playing no more than 25 games up front is not to be sniffed at. He leaves us with a sense of frustrated, appreciative minor disappointment.

Calculated at seasons end. You can go over on your projections provided you balance by June. We can bring people in as long a balancing amount of wages depart.

It's so telling that Kroenke has The Arsenal (football), LA Rams (American football), Colorado Rapids (ice hockey), Colorado Rapids (football- America), Denver Nuggets (basketball) and the ONLY one he is under any real pressure to create a winning team, LA Rams, he does in one season. Hmmm

So, how did the Los Angeles Rams go from a 4-12 season in 2016 to an 11-5 season in 2017? How did they get their first winning season since 2003? And not only that. They won their division.

How do you get that kind of turnaround? What's the secret? They changed their bleeding coach!!!
And not just any coach, a young innovative one. This is an article from near mid season when they were 5-2 and won more games at halfway point than all of 2016.

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-ra ... ms-culture

More than halfway in the transfer window, and Wenger is still trying to be "smart" in the transfer market. Just like how he sets out his team on the team, he is also devoid of urgency in the transfer market. Star deals, like Coutinho, are done and dusted by clubs with strong ambitions. We will end up with whatever is unwanted, again.

ZZZZ

To be fair, the January window is very tough to get great buys. It happens but obviously not nearly as good as the summer. However, knowing this and knowing that there was a decent chance Özil and/or Sanchez could go in January, we should have had replacements and other positions lined up.

This is what you get with leadership (Kroenke) who doesn't know and to some extent doesn't care.

You are correct the January window often presents problems. But then in the european summer we have anther problem.

This year is a World Cup year so there will be the excuse of having to wait until the WC is over to do business. Wenger will pick up a bit more cash by being an expert commentator on a French TV channel so we won't actually be doing anything. The players will go to the WC then want holidays and there will be the usual trolley dash at the end of August. groundhog day

For those that haven’t heard this yet https://youtu.be/spiAqsdvZnA it’s been around for a couple of weeks absolute classic in the making

it’s gradually catching on, would be wonderful to get it going properly in the stadium en masse

I expect the debate over the merits a certain French full back will reignited ( no one else rhymes as well though )


Edit: sadly this vs misses out the first two lines in full

Stick Swiss Tony in me pocket.

I'll fetch Squillaci from the van.

Cause if you want defenders then don't ask Wenger, George Graham, he's your man.

Where they all come from is a mystery, it's like replacing Ashley Cole with Gael Clichy.

Cause he's the one who's driving me berserk, how is Arsene Wenger still in work.

Na-na-na-na

But then we will and should be shedding players in June, we’ll certainly get mertesacker and debuchy’s wages off the bill.

It is the Daily Mail so beware but this suggests the Malcolm story is a media beat up.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... ident.html

If here is any truth in this he can f... off before he even signs. mkhitaryan demanding silly wages. He is not even worth 140k per week.

http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/17/henrikh-m ... l-7235438/

When he was in the German League he had one good year 2015/6. The rest of the time he did not produce a reasonable return. The Armenian League and the Russian League are not a reasonable comparison. His figures are terrible. With Man U in 39 league games he has 5 goals. Why we are even considering him is beyond me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrikh_Mkhitaryan

He was really good for Dortmund, not only in his last year. I have my reservations about him based on how mediocre he's been for United, but at the same time Mourinho is to attacking players what Wenger is for defenders. He just doesn't have a clue how to get the best out of them most of the time.

As long as he's accompanied by other signings I'm fine with it, wouldn't be the first time a player benefitted from a change of scenery.

It all seems like a typical transfer window for us........vague links with players (not substantiated by the selling clubs) but nothing really that concrete. The usual murmers of lowball bids with little chance of success.

It's as if we are waiting for some wonderful opportunity to just magically transpire.

I agree with that, Haz, although I wouldn't want him as a straight swap for Sanchez if that is the only deal we do this window.

It’s not ideal, but it’s the situation we’ve put ourselves in. We can’t expect Sanchez to be worth much when every club can sign him for free in the summer. The only thing clubs will pay for now is to have a crack at negotiating exclusively with him for an immediate transfer. Mkhitaryan is the lesser player, but he has a good enough track record to be worth a lot anyway, and he has several years left on his contract.

The thing that would really disappoint me this transfer window is if we didn’t get someone like Malcom in – we’re desperate for young top class talent. Would like to see us build for the future, not just sign players to get 4th place.

We made a profit in player transfers last summer. Our commercial income increased modestly and our wages increase was only £4m due to failure to qualify for the CL. I can't see at all how the PL rules could be forcing us to buy before we sell. And as Gaz pointed out we were preparing a bid for Mbappe. I also believe that if it really came down to it, Arsenal could easily make a case to the PL seeing as we have the 2nd highest cash reserves in the division and it is all self-generated.

Hi Soc

The Mkhitaryan one is more than vague rumour. I think there is something to Malcom too seeing as it prompted statements from Bordeaux. Aubemayang, who knows? He had a row with Dortmund so that could be paper talk. He would be a very untypical Wenger signing, although that could reflect our new structures too.

On what basis do you make this conclusion?

What you say is true but entirely beside the point. This isn't what we can spend but what we are allowed to. With Lacazette & Kolasinac added that significantly surpassed any savings on wages prior to that. It's why we are selling Walcott & Le Coq. Their wages would mostly cover Aubamayang (or whoever).

The wages control issue is another one why improved recruitment of young promising talent from lesser markets (Our new scout's speciality), is vital for the long term health and success of our club.

Mertrsacker & Debuchy leaving is all well and good, BUT it only helps us with the wage controls next year. It will give us more flexibility this summer.

It entirely depends on the specifics of his role I'd assume? He clearly would be learning on the job, so you'd want him bedded in slowly and with as much quality support as possible. Naturally it would be better if this wasn't his first non-playing role, but in terms of character and the way his own career developed, the long term potential is there. Would I have been more comfortable if he'd been brought in alongside someone more experienced! Yes...hopefully this is where the chap from Reading comes in?

Has Luke Hobbs been a popular & successful interim?

Unless Per is completely useless with people, which doesn't seem thee case, then surely any young player would benefit from the knowledge of a man with his experience? He may be slow on his tootsies these days but he has forgotten more about defending than most Premiership players ever knew. The more Germans in our set-up the better. They know the business.

Building on this, and mainly just to rile upp the anti Walcott crowd a bit, here are his league numbers leading up to what should’ve been his prime years (goals and assists only, as that’s pretty much all he’s been about as a footballer):

10/11 - 21 years old: 28 matches, 9 goals, 7 assists
11/12 - 22 years old: 35 matches, 8 goals, 8 assists
12/13 - 23 years old: 32 matches, 14 goals, 10 assists

Say what you want about his limitations as a player, those are excellent numbers for a young wide forward. Sadly, the following two seasons were ruined by injuries (he had two straight seasons where he didn’t reach 15 league appearances) and he never really got back to his best. 13/14 was the season we signed Özil as well, whose game is perfect for players like Walcott.

As I said, time for him to go, but he was never as bad as some claimed.

Ah Haz, I’m afraid he was. He really really was.

His goal scoring stats are very impressive. His general play was very weak though. There were games where he got lots of the ball and frightened the opposition with his pace, but they were far too infrequent.

Also, while it has become the norm to ridicule Wenger and label him as useless in every aspect of the game, I think he probably got as much out of Walcott as could be expected, given the injuries. Walcott has no natural ability to beat a player. He has very limited ability to see a through pass. His pace is exceptional and he developed into a quite good finisher. His first touch improved over the years with us. I'm not sure what more he could have added to his game apart from maybe more defensive awareness but that is hardly a high priority for a forward.

But at some point, doesn’t the numbers speak for themselves? I will never dispute the criticism leveled at Walcott for his work rate or defensive play, but at the same time I don’t see why it matters so much. Nobody is talking about how Sanchez is playing defensively. Or Hazard, or De Bruyne, or Salah. What you expect from them is to create chances and score goals, and a wide forward who scores 10-15 goals per year while contributing 5-10 assists as well (which for a while looked like numbers Walcott was capable of) has done his job as far as I’m concerned.

I think he's a case of delivering way less than he promised. I also think that you could see the player he could have been when he played on INSTINCT, but when he had to stop and think it all fell apart. Not sure what a coach can do about that.

Yeah, that I agree with. It's clear now that he was never going to be the player he was hyped up to be, because the hype wasn't based on a fair assessment of his talents. Think a lot of young players struggle with this, especially players from big football nations who are desperate for the next big thing.

Well I don't know anything about his coaching capabilities so the only way I can form a good/bad opinion is that he seems well respected by everyone at the club, he seems to 'get' what it means to play for Arsenal, that he is young enough and close enough to the game to be able to realise the way the modern player has to play and that we've let far too many potential former players slip through our fingers.

Obviously it is all just an opinion based on what little I know, but that's all I have to go on. For example I can imagine Per being a better coach than a Pires for example. Some players seem a better natural fit for a coaching role.

Theo Walcott passes Everton medical and agrees personal terms ahead of move from Arsenal

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11210090/theo-walcott-passes-everton-medical-and-agrees-personal-terms-ahead-of-move-from-arsenal

I used to get excited by the thought of players coming in. Now I couldn't care less who comes and goes player wise. It makes no odds anyway with that old goat as manager.

Wenger really is becoming a thoroughly unlikeable man.

All I'd say on Theo is that i feel he hasn't deserved the criticism levelled at him but was something of a dysfunctional player. He may be a candidate for most wengerised player we have had.

If you play a system with one up front then you need each wide player to cough up with 10-15 goals per season if you want to challenge and if played regularly Theo is capable of that as he's an excellent finisher. Unfortunately he didn't add enough to his game generally to contribute to the team as a whole. If he could have worked on his crossing and link up play he would have been a real force. I think he is probably the player who has suffered the most from Wengers lack of direct coaching

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... -year-deal

-------

Goodbye and good luck Theo.

More than Keown , Adams , Bould ... I think Per would be a disastrous appointment blighted by Wenger association , he'd be genuflecting , busily tugging his forlock every time Arsene paid a visit .

Promoting someone on the grounds of being a loyal servant seems ludicrous to me , what if he is useless he stuffs the whole youth programme .
Why gamble ....... get someone from outside with proven credentials .

"Germans know their business "...well they managed to lose two world wars .

Halleluhah ...along with Oxo another huge lump of dead pinus radiata off our books .

Wenger mismanaged Walcott but also Walcott could have gone a hell of long way to improving himself .

Success came too easy , fast tracked into the England squad at a young age , enormous wages before fully mastering his trade .

High speed , flashes of brilliance but all too often a passenger .................... Where's the rum bottle

I agree. He never got the chance to play centrally, which is what he apparently wanted, so we never found out if he is a good striker. Wonder how Sam will play him? I hope Theo gets the backing of the Everton fans - they usually warm to an attacking player, and they have not seen much of that recently. Theo was a credit to Arsenal so I wish him well.

ZZZZ

Hands down to win the Candy Floss post of 2018 ...... plenty of air and no substance . You should be writing for one of papers .

You shouldn't make an appointment on the basis because someone is a nice respected guy .

Because of our reluctance to spend big money , the youth team could be the conduit for us to compete well in the League eg .. Neketiah , Maitland
... and as I said to Old man why take the risk ...?

It's not as innocuous as promoting an unskilled favourite nephew to oversee a branch of the family bakery .

I might have been referring to football where they have done a little bit. And as far as Per goes I was thinking less 'loyal servant' and more a zillion German caps and a shed full of medals, including the World Cup.

Also, in case you don't realise you are now officially Wenger obsessed. Ask the other monomaniacs on this site for the club membership form. Its not too late to escape. In the meantime...
https://youtu.be/vSyhOPVjqDw

Let's take the sledgehammer to this flimsy effort ... Roy Keane also has a zillion caps and never mind the shed ... a warehouse and two barns full of medals , cups , trophies , Ryan Giggs , Gary Neville , Tony Adams all with the same credentials ; fell short in what you are proposing the Lump of Granite should do .

On to the Wenger obsession .... I'd calmly ask the question do you think Arsene should stay on .... ?

I'd already burnt this version for my car CD listening ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaBTHu9JSB0

have a bit of ancient Aussie you dithering old bedwetter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XSmSERQakY

Theo only a three and a half year contract!

Strangely short?