Theo Walcott played up front for Arsenal last night, scoring in a 5-2 win at the Madejski Stadium.
Arsenal will certainly hope Reading stay in the Premier League; they have scored 12 goals in two games against the Royals.
While Santi Cazorla’s hat-trick will take the headlines, a sizeable development took place last night when Theo Walcott was played up front.
Walcott is currently holding out on signing a new contract, with one of the key sticking points believed to be he wants to play as a striker, and taking his chance last night was a step in the right direction.
Here are his key stats from last night:
* Walcott had 7 shots, 4 on target, and 1 goal.
* He touched the ball 39 times; more than Reading strikers Pogrebnyak (26) and Hunt (28).
* He was caught offside only once
* He provided one key pass, completing 18 in total at a success rate of 89 per cent.
* Walcott made one interception, but was dispossessed twice.
He certainly seemed to leave Arsenal fans wanting more, who applauded him when he was substituted for Olivier Giroud in the 85th minute.
Here is a look at how fans responded to his performance on Twitter:
@piersmorgan: Walcott looks great as our central striker – quick, creative, scores goals – so Wenger/Gazidis will obviously sell him next month. #Arsenal
@manneafc: I’m all for giving Walcott a new deal, but saying he’s proven himself after 1 game up front is ludicrous
@ronanl21: No point in having wingers if we play Walcott down the middle he isn’t tall enough to get on the end of the crosses. #Arsenal
@bobobflow_: Interesting what’ll happened with Walcott’s contract, was convinced he’s leaving come January. Today offered a glimmer of hope he might sign
@pablo_jenkins: Walcott has played brilliantly so far. Showed for the ball. Been strong holding it up & linked up well.
@jairaj4: Loved Walcott’s hold up play as a central striker, really made a case for himself to be played up front alone. #SignHimUp
@carlrushe: It’s only taken Arsene 7 years to play Theo Walcott where he should always be played #betterlatethannever
@187johnnys: Walcott played well upfront
@imnotabdi: Even though Walcott missed that 1 on 1, thought he played well, scored a good goal aswell #Arsenal
@danrealist: I’m an arsenal fan… Walcott played decent against READING but he gets moved by all the cb’s in top teams
@imsubin_saj: Walcott played quite decent today. I wanna see him do it with top teams now!
@mickcoppack: do not, repeat, do not, ever, ever expect that plank, Gervinho to play up front, ahead of Theo Walcott. No comparison. #ArsenaI #afc
What was your verdict on Walcott’s performance? Will he sign the contract?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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