Hear me out on this one. It's gonna be long.
I think it would be very quick to simply say, no.
Some people will think, 100m runner, scores a few goals, no end product, no cross....no thank you.
On the face of things, it does look like that. But Wenger has never played him in the van Persie "role" in other words, up top. Wenger is just as stubborn as Benitez when it comes to players, with the habit of playing strikers out wide. Benitez played a part in destroying Djibril Cisse, of course the leg breaks didn't help. But Benitez kept playing him out wide for one reason and one reason only, "pace"
It's a pathetic assumption and tactic, a player out wide for me doesn't necessarily need to be lightning quick, but more clever. So it's pointless playing a striker out wide, if he is a goalscorer.
Unlike Wenger and Walcott, Cisse was already mid 20's, when Benitez tried to teach a dog new tricks.
Wenger has persisted playing him (Walcott) wide right ever since he went to Arsenal at a young age, because of this "The next Henry" fetish Wenger has. REMEMBER Henry was himself FIRST a winger (and failed everywhere he went) UNTIL Arsenal stepped in and played him UP FRONT coming inside from left, "inside left" the rest is history....
Wenger has got Walcott completely the wrong way around here, Walcott was a striker likened to Michael Owen all through his youth at Southampton. He was destined to become the "next big thing" (I know that gets said an awful lot). But this player was very talented and played in the same Southampton youth team as Gareth Bale, Leon Best, Nathan Dyer, Adam Lallana to name but a few.
Had we signed him then, instead of Arsenal, he would have been a totally different player now. Under Benitez most definitely not, he would have been wrecked and probably sold by now. Under Dalglish now, 22 years of age? Look at it from that point of view.
At the time we wasn't looking at top youth players from other clubs, for instance look at our youth team then, to what it is now. It was a missed opportunity, so off he went to Arsenal, who at the time had a brilliant youth team, but look at there's now....not so good, look at ours now?
For the right money, I honestly believe under Dalglish, Walcott would come very good. Because Dalglish wouldn't be stubborn with where he plays, freedom is key with this player and it's about time he plays upfront and has the responsibility he needs to become a top top player. He's done his time out wide, and been totally wasted ever since he went to Arsenal.
Yes his end product needs to be better, but so does his management and naturally I feel this would be one of the things drastically improved under Dalglish.
But I could see him of to Spurs where someone like Harry Redknapp would get the very best out of him. Remember Bale when he first went to Spurs? Playing at left back mainly, there was some mad statistic at one time that, Spurs had not won 1 game any time Bale played.
Now look at Bale....
It's ALL about man-mangement.
Arsenal would sell if the money is right. Although this could all be forgotten about....and he stays there.
£20mill, thank you very much. £25mill pushing it.
