Arsenal commit to making same mistakes yet again

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger just refuses to learn from his past mistakes

Just when you think Arsene Wenger is ready to grow as a manager, he slides back into one of his old bad habits. The Arsenal manager’s insistence to once again play Theo Walcott as a striker this year could torpedo the Gunner’s season before it formally begins.

The London Evening Standard reports that Wenger is committed to playing Walcott as a central striker again this season despite the player’s own admission that he might be better utilized on the wing. It’s unclear whether or not this admission has more to do with a tactical decision or the realization that Arsenal are unlikely to sign a big-time striker this summer.

Either way, it’s bad news for Arsenal fans that hoped the club would learn from their past mistakes. Playing Walcott through the middle for another season clearly indicates that the club are going to commit to making one of their typical mistakes once again this season.

If Wenger really believes that Walcott is best suited to play as a central striker then you really have to question his ability to understand the modern game. Unless Arsenal are going to commit to playing counter attacking football next year, then it’s obvious to almost everyone that Walcott would be most effective as a winger. He gives you nothing in terms of hold up play and lacks the feel for the striker position to really standout as a poaching goal scorer.

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In sharp contrast, his outstanding pace makes him a perfect attacking winger for Arsenal’s possession based style of attack. Playing out on the edge, he can really stretch Premier League defenses both vertically and horizontally. Just the threat of Walcott out wide greatly adds to the space that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez can enjoy throughout the rest of the pitch. SImply put, Walcott is an above-average Premier League winger and a below-average Premier League striker.

It’s quite possible, perhaps even likely, that Wenger understands this fact. If he does, then publicly committing to play Walcott as a central striker has more to do with the lack of striking quality throughout the rest of his Arsenal roster. Olivier Giroud, no matter what you think of him, seems entrenched as the Gunners’ starter, but the options behind the French forward are woefully lacking.

Wenger could be choosing to play Walcott as a striker because he realizes he doesn’t have any other alternative there. This is an indictment of the rest of the club’s current attackers, and also the club’s refusal to spend serious cash to purchase a world-class forward in the transfer market. Neither reality is a rosy thought for the Arsenal fan base.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger clearly never met Albert Einstein. The French manager is committed to making the same decisions for his club this season, and hoping that they will yield different results.