by HolyCow » Sun Jan 07, 2018 9:29 pm
Please, please get rid of Walcott.
Thinking about (1) his failure to contribute to the team's attack over the years, (2) his high salary cleverly signed after a brief stint of good form (and at a time when Arsenal were desperate not to lose anymore players), and (3) the fact that having him on the books for 10 years while we patiently waited for his alleged world class potential to never materialize likely caused Arsenal to pass on signing other much more talented attackers over the years because Walcott was going to be the next Henry someday..... thinking about all of that is infuriating.
It makes no sense for Arsenal to keep him around.
As for Walcott's perspective, a move to lesser club like Southampton would likely be a good career move. He'd have the clout to demand to play as striker like he always wanted but more significantly, playing at a lesser club would better suit Walcott's best attribute, his speed. Teams fear the attacking prowess of top clubs like Arsenal so they always sit deep leaving little to no room to run into. At Southampton, opponents don't fear their attacking ability and therefore they don't park the bus, they actually come out and play. Point being, at Southampton Walcott would regularly have much more room to run into and therefore could finally make use of his one outstanding trait, his speed, creating opportunities to shoot (and embarrass himself on a more regular basis by displaying how truly poor his finishing is).
Lastly, he'll play more so he'd have a better shot of not missing out on a third World Cup in a row.
Makes sense for both parties. Adios Walcott.