Arsenal yet again showed how soft they can be against Crystal Palace. Leading 1-0 and having as much as 75% of the ball possession and ending up drawing is a story Arsenal fans are very familiar with. Unfortunately the little hope Arsenal had of winning the title is over and it is time to take stock and prepare for next season. This season there is no question that Arsenal have desperately missed Santi Cazorla since he got injured in late November. The little Spaniard’s influence cannot be understated as Arsenal just have not been the same team since he has been out. His intuitive brilliance and two-footed passing have been sadly absent for far too long.
It is said Arsenal are the “next season” team and that’s true. The fans have next season to look forward, however before then, does Wenger need to do a massive clear out of deadwood and underachievers? And many believe one of the first players to go should be Theo Walcott. Someone once said Theo Walcott was a potential ten years ago and is still a potential today. Unfortunately he is an expensive potential. A potential who earns £110,000 a week. That’s almost the same as Kevin De Bruyne who is reportedly on £120,000 week. The Belgian is clearly quite a player and makes Man City look like such a good side when he plays and note their terrible form when he was out injured. Perhaps without Cazorla we are like Man City without De Bruyne?
One of Wenger’s strong points is his strong loyalty to his players but unfortunately players such as Walcott have shown they may not deserve the loyalty. First, you can’t be on a wage package of £110,000 a week and be delivering as little as Walcott has done in patches. Secondly, for that amount, Arsenal can get in someone who is possibly better than Walcott. There is simply no point for Arsenal to continue to waste money on Walcott’s wages week in week out when they could maybe sign someone else who will deliver more and be injured less plus will likely cost no more. Antoine Griezman as well as Marco Reus come to mind.
Take for instance, Marco Reus is reportedly on £75,000 a week at Dortmund. His form has certainly been better than Walcott and if he was at Arsenal, Walcott likely would only make the bench. The probable only reason Walcott still plays for Arsenal is because Wenger is the manager and he is English. Joel Campbell has contributed in a meaningful way this season and given more game time you could argue that he deserves a place more than Walcott if he had the full season to show his stuff. Young Iwobi has shown he can be a real option in place of Theo.
Theo is one of the best paid players at Arsenal and he is one of the several who are under-performing like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud and others. Unfortunately Walcott’s performances have often flattered to deceive – sometimes looking like that ridiculously fast lethal finisher then other times looking much too much of a passenger.
If you must win titles, you must have winners. Whether Wenger is planning a squad overhaul seems unlikely given his history but he would do well to be trying to sign the likes of winners like Antoine Griezman, Marco Reus, Gonzalo Higuain and Matts Hummels but we will have to see as it really seems like the squad needs some new impetus from a number of class players.