Robin van Persie is reportedly injured and may not be able to start tomorrow’s game, so should Arsene Wenger try a new approach?
Dutch talisman and Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie is rated 50-50 for tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off at Anfield.
Arsenal’s back-up strikers hardly fill supporters with confidence, so fans will be praying he does make it.
But what if he doesn’t?
Marouane Chamakh is seemingly a lost cause, lacking confidence and destined for a move away in the summer.
Park Chu-Young has not been given a chance since arriving from Monaco and Wenger is not about to throw him in at the deep end away to Liverpool.
It shows why supporters are so desperate a) for van Persie to stay, and b) to sign a threatening second striker such as Lukas Podolski.
But for tomorrow the Gunners could be left having to put in place makeshift options.
They of course have Gervinho, who is not an out and out striker, but the most tempting of all options has to be Theo Walcott.
His two goal salvo against Tottenham was the type of performance supporters have been crying out for, and it is no coincidence that the goals came when Walcott was able to use his pace instinctively from a more central position.
With Daniel Agger injured and Liverpool expected to play 34-year-old Jamie Carragher at centre-back, Walcott would surely be a nightmare for the ageing defender.
The Daily Mail’s Martin Samuel called earlier this week for Wenger to stick Walcott up front and tell him to play like Michael Owen did in 1998, exploiting his pace.
Wenger may not want to jump at that suggestion, but if van Persie is injured, he may have little other option.
Walcott is obviously on a high after last weekend, and remains fresh after coming on as a late substitute for England in midweek, so there may be no better time, and it may be a counter attacking tactic which works better away from home.
Do you agree, if van Persie cannot start should Walcott play up front?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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