yuv wrote:
Patters wrote:
Theo Walcott is surplus to requirements when the target is CL qualification. We won't be struggling to finish 4th without him. but we can't expect to progress if we can't keep good goalscorers.
:hmm: That depends. So far we didn't look like a team that is all but safe in "le prize". We've struggled to get out of defense, maintain possession and create. Along comes Theo and starts running deep, D backs off pressure in the center, Santi has enough room to build a hotel let alone create danger, and Jack can drive forward which ever way he choses.
We look dynamic, flowing, creating, dangerous.
Yeah, it could be this is making too much of this, and it's certainly not all Theo related. But you sound too sure about that, without suggesting it would also depend on what we'll have in his place when he leaves. I'm not sure I'd commit to that.
I'm quite confident we have enough quality to reach 4th without Theo. It's definitely true that Theo is a valuable asset right now and even with that we are below 4th. But I think, with the squad we have, we are under-achieving at the moment.
They might not be world beaters but a side with Giroud, Podolski, Wilshere, Cazorla, Arteta, Vermaelen, Sagna, Mertesacker has quality above what Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham and the other challengers possess overall. But there's an even bigger gap between ourselves and the quality Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd have. If we want to close the gap, we have to keep players like Van Persie and Walcott as well as adding your Cazorla's and Podolski's..which we aren't doing.
So I guess my confidence in our ability to get 4th without Theo comes from my belief that we are (severely) under-performing at the moment. I think there's more to come from certain players (Wilshere, Oxlade, Cazorla, Podolski) that will get us over the line. And if the club don't think so, they will probably strengthen in January to help us in our quest for the 4th place trophy.
