The right-back dilemma

Funny thing life is. Had someone told me a year ago we’ll have a tight-back dilemma I would have laughed.

At the time we had Sagna as our only recognised full-back. He had a pretty good season along with Koscielny, Mertesacker and Gibbs and, despite some sound thrashings, Arsenal’s defensive record was one of the best (my rough guess is behind Chelsea and just a little worse off than City).

Sagna played a big part in keeping our goal under lock and key, thus helping Szczesny amass 16 clean sheets and become the joint winner of the Golden Glove. The thought of the Frenchman leaving was terrifying. Most were still not convinced Arsene was ready to spend and spend big on reinforcements (count me in on that front) and the prospect of seeing a hard-working, but far from impeccable Jenkinson week in, week out sent goosebumps down my spine.

Sagna left to warm up City’s bench when his contract expired on July 1st and for almost three weeks every Arsenal fan was nervous as hell. It was less than likely Wenger would buy anyone before the World Cup Final and yet, and yet. Most feared Wenger would want to play his usual brinkmanship game till August 31st.

Those fears turned out to be unfounded. Amid rumours linking us with Micah Richards and Serge Aurier, Mathieu Debuchy made his grand entrance on July 18th. Most were underwhelmed Arsene chose experience over youth (namely, Debuchy over Aurier), I was excited. I’ve seen enough young prospects to feel a genuine sense of relief when Mathieu was unveiled. Jenks became solid back-up instead of an unconvincing №1.

Eight days later we signed Calum Chambers for a ridiculous fee of 16 million. I say “ridiculous” not because it’s that inflated (Luke Shaw was bought for 25 million. 25 million pounds for a defender who has never heard of Tony Adams), but because Calum became (and remains still) our most expensive back-four acquisition. He cost us more than Debuchy, an experienced right-back, №1 for the French national team. A 19-year-old kid who had one good season at Southampton. Poor old Jenko was shipped out on loan five days later. His smile when he held West Ham’s shirt was the most painful thing I’d seen in quite some time.

Debuchy banjaxed his ankle a month into the campaign and the real fun started. A kid under the name of Hector Bellerin emerged, had a debacle of a performance against Borussia (not that he was alone, mind you) and was seemingly consigned to history books. Until mid-January, that is. On January 11th Debuchy was cynically shoved into the advertising boards by Arnautovic and dislocated his shoulder. Chambers was down with illness and so Bellerin got a second chance.

And now here we are, with a very real right-back dilemma on our hands. Who is the current number one, who has a future at the Club and who (if anyone) will be sacrificed when the current season ends? Let’s try and figure it out together.

Mathieu Debuchy

I’ve seen very little of the Frenchman I have to confess. I simply do not have the time to watch the Premier League all weekend long and thus couldn’t pass judgement on how well Mathieu fared in his only full season at Newcastle. I’ve heard from some Newcastle fans he’s left a generally positive impression there and most were sad to see him go.

The Frenchman was described as sometimes having disciplinary issues (got one or two reds in his rather short stint with the Magpies) but overall was considered a very solid right-back of a conservative type. One who prefers to stay back in order not to get caught out of position, nonetheless with a good shot and decent crossing ability (an ability Sagna never mastered). What is more, Mathieu was portrayed as an able aerial fighter and this quality was of great importance to us. Someone (I think over on Arseblog) noted that Szczesny’s two favourite recipients were Giroud and Sagna when the Pole opted to clear his lines and thus it was vital for Bacary’s replacement to be good in the air. And despite Debuchy’s height of only 5 ft 10 inches he’s pretty impressive there from what I’ve witnessed.

Two serious injuries hampered Mathieu’s season greatly, but I remain convinced he is our current №1. He reminds me of Arteta a great deal. Experienced, disciplined, never loses his head under pressure. I’m sure that, once fully-fit, Debuchy will play the vast majority of remaining games and this trend may well continue for several more seasons, as the Frenchman only turns 30 this July. I’m fine with Debuchy as our №1. He was bought as a direct replacement for Sagna, and he looks an upgrade to me.

Hector Bellerin

This kid means business. Despite only turning 20 a couple of days ago, a phrase dropped by Mikel Arteta at the outset of the season is bandied about:

“I think he's a top player.

He can be the right back of Arsenal for many years in my opinion, provided he gets the chance. Mentally, he handles what is requested to play at the highest level. He's got pace, he's got technique, and he's a very positive guy.

I talk to Hector a lot. He's been around for years and we've been talking to each other for a long time. I know him well because he's taken part in pre-season a few times with us already.

He's a very confident guy and we treat him as any other player because he's part of our squad. Hopefully he's going to become a top player at the club.”

Getting such high praise from one of the most level-headed players at our Club speaks for itself. And it’s fair to say Bellerin not only got his chance, he grabbed it with both hands.

The young Spaniard had a pretty rough introduction. He started his first senior game against Borussia and, unless I’m much mistaken, his second start came against Stoke away. Not pleasant at all.

But Bellerin recovered. He played some brilliant football in our 4-1 win against Newcastle, starting the move for the first and getting an assist later on. As Debuchy got crocked in a 3-0 win over the Orcs at the Emirates, Bellerin came on and hasn’t looked back since, making 8 Premier League starts in 10 games, bagging two brilliant goals in the process.

The Spaniard has been a true revelation this season:

“He’s one of the surprises of the season. He was at Watford on loan last year and didn’t get the games. He’s just 20 years old, if you look at what he does at 20 years of age… Maybe he still has some experience to gain but defending one against one is good and going forward is good as well. He [also] scored an important goal in a big game and that always shows that the guy has the mental quality to be there.”

It’s interesting to see what happens next year. Will Hector be shipped on loan to gain experience? Should we do that? I don’t think we should. Bellerin showed he is ready to play at the level required, keeping and playing him at every possibility should be our priority. I won’t go as far as to say that Debuchy is injury-prone, God knows he is the unluckiest person on Earth to sustain two such horrific injuries in one season, but he can’t play 50+ games a year. And that’s where Bellerin comes in.

Calum Chambers

We bought Calum as a right-back & that was exactly the role he played for almost four months non-stop. Right now Chambers has amassed 35 games overall (28 starts) and at one point I was really worried about his energy levels. It was pre-Stoke, December 5th, if you want the exact date. Chambers made 21 appearances by that point. That means in less than three months, as he was back-up to Debuchy from mid-August to mid-September. I was not alone in expressing concerns, especially after Calum’s rather weak performances against Swansea and (subsequently) Stoke:

“For a 19-year-old player, he has played too many games. They all hit the wall after 15, 17 games. You have to give them a breather, refresh and get them back again. At the moment, to have that responsibility in every single game is a lot on a player of that age.”

However, these bleak performances weren't representative of the quality Chambers undoubtedly possesses. They say the first impression sticks and my first impression of Chambers was the Community Shield game against City. He played that game in central defense alongside Koscielny, as Mertesacker hadn't yet returned from his World-Cup-winning escapades with Germany.

And Chambers was brilliant. He was calm on and off the ball, his distribution from the back was superb and the way he snapped into tackles left people in quiet awe:

"I saw him there (at centre-back) when I bought him and I play him there. For a 19-year-old he had an outstanding performance today. The kind of performance he delivered today is very promising. It's impressive because he hasn't got a long history in this position because he was a right back and I think if all goes well he has a good career in front of him.'

And this is where I think Calum's future lies. At centre-back, not at right-back. I've included him here because he played a vast majority of games at right-back and is a more than able stand-in, but for me he is a central defender.

If Debuchy's qualities remind me of Arteta, then Chambers is a ready-made replacement for Mertesacker if there ever was one. Not Gabriel, not Koscielny: Chambers.

He's tall, he's calm, he's good in the air and good at positioning himself. His distribution is decent and, most of all, he relies on his positional awareness rather than his speed to break up attacks. True, his performances at centre-back were largely unimpressive (bar Community Shield), but that's because he played alongside Mertesacker, not Koscielny.

The prospect of seeing Chambers pair up with Kos is mouthwatering. To me it's more enticing than a pair of Gabriel and Koscielny. I mean it. Chambo and Koscielny may not be a pair for all games (just like a Mertescielny axis isn't), however it's a partnership with great potential. Hope we see those two play together on a more regular basis next season.

Carl Jenkinson

Poor Jenko. That's the second time I've used this phrase, but really, Carl's future doesn't look all that bright. He was in a bad spot already after Debuchy and Chambers came in, the emergence of Hector Bellerin left him fourth in the fight for the right back spot. Wenger denied Hector's performances will have an impact on Jenko's future, but is that because Arsene's mind was already made up when he loaned Carl to West Ham? Or do these words really mean AW will be able to find a place for Jenkinson in the current side? Right now I can see only two ways of that last option coming to fruition:

1. Wenger views Chambers ONLY as a centre-back, sends Bellerin out on loan to gain experience and regular playing time. Thus Jenko becomes back-up to Debuchy and gets his fair share of games to demonstrate he's worthy to become our number 1 right-back. In this case Jenkinson will have to jump higher than Bellerin AND wait till Debuchy either retires or is consigned to a substitute role
2. Wenger does something drastic with the personnel he has to clear room for Carl. Like, for example, viewing Bellerin as a right winger instead of a right-back and playing Chambers either at CB or DM. Jenko will still have to deliver and out-wait Debuchy's tenure at the Club

Both options don't seem very likely even to me, truth be told. Which sees me retrace my steps and explore the first scenario: Jenko will be sold when the current season draws to a close.

And this fills me with sadness. I really like Jenkinson. I like how he fares at West Ham, I love the fact he's an Arsenal fan. I know that in him we have a man giving it all for the shirt simply because the shirt means a lot to him. I'm not saying it doesn't for Bellerin or Chambers, but with Jenko I'm sure. Just look at the emotions flowing through the guy when he scored in our last PL game last season.

I'm aware football doesn't always have fairytale endings. Sometimes even managers as soft and understanding as Arsene Wenger have to make harsh decisions. That's the reality of competition. However, as I've stated above, I have a soft spot for Jenko.

Imagine Wilshere loses his race to Ramsey and/or Cazorla in a year. Imagine we'll have to sell him because of his high wage demands, a rather peripheral role and a contract due to expire in 12 months. Would any of the parties be happy with such an outcome? Wilshere, a fan of the Club? Wenger, the guy who nurtured Jack, made him who he is? The fans, for whom Jack has become iconic, almost an idol?

Same with Jenko, only the extent is lesser.

The verdict

Quite an Arsenal we have, don't we (pun intended, of course)? Four players for one spot. Some in a more privileged position than others, but those others are unlikely to give in. You can almost write a script and shoot a movie about our situation.

If it wasn't so complicated for everyone involved. Competition is great, it brings out the best of everyone, but there will still be those who miss out. You can't keep everyone happy, at least I can't see how we can do this. I hope Arsene has an idea or two.

That's it for now. If you stuck with me for the duration of this article, I take my hat off. Hope I gave you something to think about.

Cheers

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Burnley 0-1 Arsenal: 8 on the bounce

Well, that was tough. Tougher than I expected. We took the points for the eighth consecutive game without really being troubled after we scored, but found chances hard to come by to double the lead. You can see why Burnley drew with Chelsea and United and took all three points against City at Turf Moor. Although it seems these days any half-decent side can overpower Pellegrini's men.

The game wasn't much it terms of actual football happening, so I'd rather do my usual trick in these circumstances and break the review into points of interest.

The squad and approach

I was really surprised to see an unchanged starting XI. Before the game kicked off I thought that maybe at least Ramsey was moved infield with either Cazorla or Ozil wide, however I was wrong even here. Aaron once again played the role of a winger.

The only changes to the side that bested Liverpool a week ago were Szczesny for Macey and Chambers for Gabriel. Both filled me with joy, as I was nervous to have a rookie goalkeeper even for one game, while I've already expressed my point of view concerning Chambers. He should at least make the bench because of his versatility. Should the need to sub Bellerin/Debuchy arise, there must be a right-back at the ready. And as having three defenders on the bench is too much, one of them should be able to fill in at two positions. Chambers is the only such player.

However, the respective omissions of Arteta, Wilshere and Debuchy left me scratching my head. Did Arsene decide to just give them one more week, or does they genuinely miss out due to the high level of competition?

The latter option seems unlikely to me. Surely at least the skipper could be reinstated at Flamini's expense? However, it looks weird when three players of this calibre don't even make the bench for the second game running.

As for our approach, we went with a rather unusual one, namely: we put a lot of effort into scoring an early goal. Sanchez blasted a shot wide early on and the combination which led to Ramsey smashing the only goal info the net saw four shots from four different players.

After the goal we just fell back, kept our shape and exercised what can be called "sterile possession". Whether it was sterile because we were content with it or because Burnley pressed us all over the pitch for the duration of 90 minutes, we will never know.

Burnley's moments

They had a few. The two most dangerous happened during the first half. No, three.

The first one occurred at 0-0 when Vokes bursted down our right only to be denied by some brilliant goalkeeping from Ospina. The other two were from free-kicks.

And I have to say these were some dodgy decisions from Mike Dean. I'm not implying he was on Burnley's side, he was, as someone on Twitter nicely put it "shit all around", but these free-kicks were both flimsy calls, to say the least. To me the situations which led to what Dean viewed as fouls were just common duels. Coquelin and Koscielny won both, the ref whistled and Ospina found himself putting some solid walls of players together.

The first kick was blocked by the wall (was it Coquelin?), the second resulted in Ospina going full-stretch to deny Trippier. Good job by the Colombian.

Burnley had one more decent moment I can recall, deep into the second half, after Bellerin got fooled on the right and Boyd needed to only hit the target. Luckily, he swung his leg at thin air.

Bellerin "hitting the wall"?

I may be seeing things where there really is nothing to see, but I didn't like the way Bellerin played yesterday. I definitely didn't like his defensive contribution.

Firstly, he was caught high upfield several times, the most damaging could have been at 0-0, but, luckily, Ospina interfered. Secondly, the young Spaniard looked flimsy in one-on-one situations. Whether he faced Barnes, Vokes or whoever played at right-back for Burnley, I grew less and less sure of his ability to cope as the game went on. He was again at fault at around 70th minute, when Boyd failed to get on the end of a low cross. Cross, incoming from Bellerin flank after Hector was roasted there.

Was Bellerin too sure of himself after a brilliant showing against Liverpool? Was it the approach of the opposition, some particular skills demonstrated by Barnes or just good old exhaustion? I remember Arsene expressing concerns in late December as to Chambers' physical and mental condition. Wenger noted, that all young players "hit the wall" after 15-17 games and need a breather, a period to recharge his batteries. Bellerin played slightly less this season, something around 12 games, but it's not exact science we are dealing with. The Spaniard may have hit his personal wall a bit earlier. If so, remove him from the firing line, reinstate Debuchy. Or give Chambers a run of games, if the Frenchman is still not ready.

The width

I'm sure Wenger noticed what I did: that Bellerin was, largely, not coping with Burnley's threat. So why did he keep Hector on, despite having Chambers on the bench?

To this I have only one suggestion: Bellerin was the only player giving width to our attacks. Monreal sat back more than usual to keep an eye on Ings, Sanchez looked refreshed and up for it, only for his knack to drift infield impeding us from stretching the play. And Ramsey? He is not a winger. Simple as that. He fared well a week ago, which was, in my opinion down to the opposition and to Rambo's more disciplined approach to his duties as a wide man.

This time around he was less disciplined, preferred to move inside on a number of occasions, and so Bellerin was handed an enormous task of playing as both a winger and a defender. No wonder he wasn't particularly good at both.

I felt that, as soon as we stretch the play, we'll score that second and put the game to bed. We needed someone to get behind the opposition's fullback and get crosses in. That's where Oxlade would have come in handy. But even without the Englishman we had options.

We could have subbed Ramsey for Welbeck, or Cazorla for Welbeck and moved Ramsey to play alongside Ozil or Coquelin. We, or, rather, Arsene, could have let Walcott come on. Finally, he could have just swapped Ramsey's and Cazorla's/Ozil's positions. He did nothing of the sort, as a result we (unsuccessfully) tried to break through the overcrowded midfield and thus played into Burnley's hands, while also deriving Giroud of service. The Frenchman tried dropping deep to collect the ball and gave up after a few failed attempts. And so Arsene chose to sub off Giroud and bring on Welbeck.

Again, I can only guess why Wenger did nothing to stretch play. My bet is that the Frenchman didn't want to interfere and fix what wasn't really broken. We coped with Burnley the way it was, and so Arsene decided to hold onto what we had and not try and score the second goal.

"70% of the Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Francis Coquelin"

Man of the Match, hands down. 11 interceptions (league high in a single game), 9 ball recoveries and two successful tackles. The interceptions stat is particularly impressive, since Burnley only enjoyed 31% possession and made only 194 passes. That means more than every 20th pass Burnley made was intercepted by Coquelin!

As if this wasn't enough, Coquelin actually started the only attack that led to a goal by intercepting (surprise!) a pass and vigorously attacking the space in front of him. He then celebrated no less brilliantly.

I could rant on about how good our Coq was, but I feel no need. I'll just give you the manager's take on Francis:

"First of all he’s shown his individual quality winning the ball and passing it quickly, and he’s very strong in the challenges. He also contributes to the balance of the team and that’s very difficult to measure. You know that the balance of the team sometimes depends on one player who has some characteristics that the others don’t. He looks like he has hugely contributed to that."

And the link to the usual "By the numbers" section over on Arseblog.

The verdict

It was not the best of performances from us, but important thing is, we won. Won where others dropped points and dropped these points for a reason.

Our eighth consecutive win didn't see us bridge the gap to Chelsea, unfortunately. The Blues scored an 88th minute goal from their only shot on target to get the points at Loftus Road and thus we trail Mourinho's men by seven points having played a game less.

We didn't get room for manoeuvre from behind either, as United thrashed City at Old Trafford. As a result we have put some distance between us and Pellegrini's side, but are still a single point ahead of United. Tough.

Then again, when wasn't it? You want a high place, you battle to the very last moment.

And remember, we are playing Reading in the semi-final this week. We are going to Wembley, guys.

Have yourselves a very good week.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Burnley preview: gunned and ready

Hi everyone.

We face Burnley away in what will be our last league game in two weeks, because, as you may well remember, we miss the next BPL clash due to the involvement in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. A nice reason to miss a league match.

Truth be told, I was a little baffled to see a cup game take place on the weekend, something that will wreak havoc with our timetable by forcing us to skip a league game, but then I think all big games in the cups are played on either Saturday or Sunday (or even Monday, if BBC airs it). I distinctly recall we faced Everton on the weekend in the quarters last year, so I guess it’s not that surprising after all.

Anyway, back to the task at hand and we have an almost fit squad to take on Burnley.

Team news update

Diaby, Arteta and Wilshere should all be available:

“They came through the game on Tuesday well. They were at a good level physically and they should all be available from now on until the end of the season hopefully.”

As should Debuchy:

“Debuchy is alright. I can only play three players over 21 [in the under-21 league] so he is physically fit and ready. He lacks a bit of a competitive edge but overall he has no medical problems.”

However, Oxlade is still unavailable for “at least two more weeks”, while Szczesny and Koscielny face late fitness tests. No word was said on Ramsey, so I’m presuming the Welshman is ready to play.

Whichever way you look at our current injury situation, this is a monumental achievement compared to last season. Should everyone come through the game unscathed (fingers crossed), Oxlade will remain the only player sidelined when we face Reading in the cup.

The new challenge will be to keep everyone happy, but that’s a pleasant headache for Arsene to have. With all the bits sorted out, time to put together a likely squad.

Defense

It was interesting to hear Arsene say he could only play three guys over 21 in the game against Stoke. It means he probably would have played Debuchy had the restrictions not been so harsh.

Does that mean Debuchy is not yet ready to start games? I'd say yes. So I'd give the Frenchman another week or two and play Bellerin in the meantime. The Spaniard has been phenomenal as of late, so much so I'm really interested to see how things unfold once his French counterpart is fully fit.

Monreal should get the nod to start on the left, but who should do likewise in central defense? With doubts over Koscielny's fitness the best decision for everybody concerned would probably be to rest him and play Gabriel.

Then again, changing a winning formula is hard and we all know how Wenger doesn't like to shuffle his team and the back four in particular, although he has become more lenient in this regard lately.

Finally there's a simple consideration for the future: Mertesacker is in the later stages of his career, so playing Gabriel together with Koscielny as often as possible during the run-in should also be on Arsene's mind.

I'd personally go with a back four of Bellerin, Mert, Gabriel and Monreal, but, as I've illustrated above, there's no telling what Arsene might do. Good thing is, he has options.

Midfield

Gosh, we have EVERYONE available here. It's definitely the first time this season, question is when we last had all the midfielders at our disposal.

And so that means another selection headache for Wenger. I think Arteta and Wilshere aren't still at the fitness level required, however I have no doubt they will make the bench. In the longer run, it's interesting to see what the future holds for both of them.

They don't look like regular starters at the moment, not for me at least. That's despite Arteta being our captain and Jack being vital in the first half of the campaign. While with Arteta things look pretty straightforward (he signs a one-year extension and stays as experienced backup to Coq), the picture is not that clear with Wilshere. You can read more on the subject here.

However, even with Arteta and Jack in the category of "unlikely starters", Arsene still has plenty of options in midfield, seeing as Danny Welbeck is eligible once again and I don't even exclude a start for Theo Walcott.

Moreover, I think Ramsey on the right was a one-off, a stroke of genius from Wenger dictated by the opposition. Rambo was shifted wide to pressurise Moreno and Sakho (with more than a little help from Hector Bellerin) and it worked. I cannot, however, picture Aaron on the right on a permanent basis. His talents are better utilised in the middle of the park.

That means one of Ozil or Cazorla won't avoid the drop (unless we drop Ramsey himself). Personally, I'd go with Coquelin, Ramsey and Ozil. You know I prefer Ozil to Cazorla under the striker, and when it comes to balance, Ramsey provides us with more than the Spaniard. But again, that's only my view, I cannot tell what Arsene has in mind.

Attack

Giroud and Sanchez, obviously, both are on fire right now, but who will complement the trio on the right? Oxlade is the go-to guy under normal circumstances, in his absence we have: Welbeck, Walcott and one of our central midfielders.

The least obvious choice is the last: who do we shift out wide? Rambo was an exception as I've stated above, Cazorla was played in central midfield even with a fully-fit Ramsey and Ozil and the German himself only played wide right after his recovery. When it became obvious Ozil is excellent at 10 Wenger was, understandably reluctant to remove Ozil from there.

Then Walcott? To my mind playing Walcott means pairing him with a more conservative full-back: Chambers or Debuchy, in our case. Dropping an in-form Bellerin for the former will look kind of stupid, while playing Debuchy and Walcott is risky both because they haven't played together ever before and because the Frenchman isn't yet at 100%.

That leaves us with Welbeck and I'm perfectly fine with this option. Danny has pace, he helps Bellerin out a great deal and his inclusion means having an extra forward on the pitch.

The verdict

For the first time this season I find the job of predicting a likely XI that hard. Apart from Ospina, Monreal, Coquelin, Ozil, Giroud and Sanchez, I'm not sure about anyone. Whether they will be involved, to what extent etc.

And that's exciting. I wish I had such a headache every week. Much better than knowing you have around 18 players available and guessing everyone right simply because there are no real options. This time around the depth of our squad is such that even without Koscielny and Oxlade (worst-case scenario), we'll still have to drop one defender and a couple of midfielders. Not any forwards yet, but we are getting there.

Looking at the players at our disposal you can't help but think we are the overwhelming favourites to win this one. The confidence is flowing through the team, we found our cohesion, we got almost everyone back on their feet and we thrashed Liverpool to cap it all off. We should be too much for Burnley.

However, this doesn't mean the players can take the game lightly. Burnley are a Premier League team, one fighting to stay up and they are perfectly capable of producing shock results (just ask City and Chelsea).

The right attitude is all-important. After that, we have enough quality to get the job done.

So come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

What do you do when someone holds a gun to your head?

"I don't need an agent, because I will never leave Arsenal".

This quote by Jack Wilshere has become iconic. It almost reaches the heights of Adams's “Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they’ll remember the name on the back.”

Back to Wilshere and this quote epitomises why I love Jack so much. With devotion and loyalty hard to come by in modern football, this phrase by Jack is a rarity in itself. But that's not the reason I brought the quote up.

Rather, I'm in doubt whether this phrase is applicable to Theo Walcott. We've bought him nine years ago (can you believe it?) from Southampton and I still remember Theo's smiling face as he held the shirt and stood next to a no-less smily Wenger. Wenger with fewer grey hairs.

However, I cannot recall Theo saying something along the lines of Jack's phrase. Has he ever demonstrated this kind of devotion?

The freshest wound he inflicted upon the Arsenal's faithful still hurts. Theo did it 2,5 years ago, when negotiating a new deal. He knew he was of utmost importance to Arsenal. It was the season when van Persie left for United. We had no Ozil back then, and certainly no Sanchez or Welbeck. Oxlade was swinging in and out of hospital. We were trying to crack the usual enigma of getting into the top four. Cazorla was our only real number 10. Giroud was still adapting, Poldi had already become a professional sub.

Wenger handled the situation in as dignified way as possible under the circumstances. Despite us needing Theo and his goals, the Englishman only appeared from the bench for the first half of the season. But he knew he was in a privileged position. He knew we needed him more than he needed us. Especially after RvP left.

And Theo got his way. He got the 100k per-week salary. He got to play as a striker, though, thankfully, not for long. What really drove me up a wall is that the Englishman even negotiated a one-off £3 million sign-on bonus. At a time we were still paying off the stadium debt.

This whole thing hurt a lot at the time. But I, among other Arsenal fans, got on with it. However, I didn't forget what Theo did, why he did it and at what time he did it. It was like Walcott was holding Arsenal at gunpoint. And we had little choice but to give in.

They say that when the going gets rough, people show their true colours. If you want to know what a certain man is made of, give him the power over you and see what he does. And I didn't like what I've seen from Theo.

Fast-forward 2,5 years and what do we have? That's right ladies and gentlemen, we have Theo's contract which is due to expire in a little over a year. And what does Theo want? Right again, bigger wages. Only this time he's not our only winger or goalscorer. He's not even a guaranteed starter anymore. Oh how the tables have turned.

Do I sound ironic about the whole situation? Bitter? Disproving? Well that's because I'm all these things right now. And I'm certain I'm not alone:

“The first contacts have been established with the embassy. We will see how that progresses politically. Walcott was difficult to convince [last time] and that is why it took us much time. We started very early with him but it was slow progress. He is very quick on the pitch but off the pitch, not always.”

Have you ever heard Arsene sound as sarcastic about such a delicate matter in public? I know I haven't. And I understand the man completely. Unlike Theo, Wenger makes the impression of a man truly dedicated to his cause.

Most importantly, however, Theo doesn't hold the cards anymore. He wants bigger wages? Way I see it, he doesn't deserve them. What exactly has he shown after signing the new deal 30 months ago? His form slumped for the remainder of the 2012-2013 season, he was in and out of hospital from August till November in 2013-2014 and, after demonstrating a flash of form in December, did his cruciate knee ligament in January 2014. The injury kept Theo sidelined for a year and, upon returning, he found we were no longer over-reliant on him. In fact, we are no longer reliant on him at all. Despite shipping out Campbell, Poldi and Akpom on loan, Theo still performs the role of the sub. And, frankly, our best XI doesn't include Walcott at the moment.

Is he competing for a place in the team with the Ox? Then it's a lost battle, because Alex is a much better all-round player. His finishing is still far from perfect, but his overall involvement and output far outweighs his finishing. He takes players on, he terrorises defenders off the ball, he hugs the byline, he helps Bellerin out a great deal.

Then it's Alexis Theo tries to displace? Looks that way. Sanchez, much like Walcott, relies on his positioning and finishing when the Chilean gets into dangerous areas. Thing is, Alexis is a much better finisher, while also contributing in other areas of the field. No one in their right mind will bench Alexis to field Theo.

And look at what Wenger said recently:

"When you have the ball in the modern game you have to attack, when you don't have the ball you have to defend. All the players who can't do that, cannot play."

He's basically thrown down the gaunlet to Theo. Either you improve your all-round game, or you don't play. You want to play, fight, improve, show you are worth starting games. Arsene basically said: "You are no use to us if you don't play. What talk can there be of higher wages if you don't contribute on the pitch?"

The ball is now firmly in Theo's court. If he wants to stay, he has to swallow his ego, pick up his already big wages and fight. If he just wants bigger wages, then the door is open for him. Hell, I'll even hold it for Theo. And I won't chastise Wenger should Theo leave in the summer. I'll only do that if no replacement comes in.

I'll finish it with another Tony Adams quote:

“I will sign every contract Arsenal put in front of me without reading it.”

Not Theo's case.

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)