Walcott's Heroics, Hodgson's Dilema

Top of the Morning to y’all

It was a good day yesterday for Arsenal players at the Euros as Theo Walcott and not Danny Welbeck was England's undoubted hero yesterday night against Sweden in their Group D match. England had gone ahead through Andy Carroll’s header after another perfect cross from Gerrard only for Sweden to equalise just four minutes after the break with a Glen  Johnson own goal and Olof Mellberg put the Swedes ahead with a point blank header.

 Then came Walcott’s moment of glory as a desperate Hodgson threw him on in place of Milner. Despite claims from various quarters that he offers the defence more protection than Walcott and as such should start ahead of him, I vehemently refuse to accept that Milner is better than Theo. Anyway, back to the game, and Gerrard’s corner was weekly cleared and the ball fell to Walcott at the edge of the area and he sent the ball rifling back into the Swedish net. Well for those who were surprised at Theo scoring with such a shot, am not. Who remembers Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing of Blackpool at the Emirates two seasons ago where Theo’s shot tore the bottom corner of the net? Yeah, I always knew he packed a punch in that right foot of his and with just over 10 minutes to go, he dribbled past two defenders before finding Welbeck with a perfect cross and Mensah back heeled home the winner.   

Walcott said after the game:

There were a lot of Premier League players out there, so it was very similar to playing in the Premier League. But we wanted to make more of an impact going forward and if you can score three goals in international football, you are always going to have a chance of winning matches.

It's always nice to come off the bench and show what you can do. But it's not about me. It's about England. We are a family and we are all together.

Awwwwwwww, how nice and sweet of Theo. While match winner Mensah said about Walcott

When you have a player like Theo waiting on the bench, you know that whenever he's about to come on that he is capable of making a difference.'

For me Walcott’s impact raises two problems for Hodgson. First does he play him at the start in the next game or continue to use him as an impact sub from the bench.

Personally, I think he should continue to be an impact sub. I recognise the fact that he wants to start and play every game but his pace is electrifying and it would be nightmare for any defender that has had to run up and down the pitch and is obviously tried to have someone like Theo Walcott run at him for the last 20 or 25 minutes of a game. The ease with which he beat those 2 Swedish players while setting up the winner says it all.

Another reason I think he should start from the bench is because we are yet to see some improvement on his inconsistencies and for all his heroics yesterday, he might start against Ukraine and flop which I don’t pray for. But still Walcott is Walcott and we know him well. Starting and having another bad game will only put more pressure on him to do well which will not be good for his confidence and the national team in general.

To Arsenal news, and nothing much seems to be going on and after the buzz earlier this week about the signing of Giroud, (even though Wenger says he will not say anything about it even if he is tortured) things seem to have quieted down a bit. Maybe someone should torture him a little bit to see how far he can keep the open secret under wraps.

In Nigeria, Arsenal Nigeria has announced that a press briefing will be held on the 27^th of June at the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) secretariat at the National Stadium in Surulere Lagos at 10am prompt. This is for all Arsenal fans and you are all invited. No gate fees to be paid, just wear your Arsenal jerseys and access will be granted.  Arsenal’s visit to Nigeria this summer is sure to be discussed.  I will be there so am looking forward to seeing you all there as well

That's all for now folks, be back on Monday for a fresh one. For more information on the Arsenal Nigeria press briefing, follow Arsenal Nigeria on Twitter @arsenalnigeria3 or follow me @nigeriangunners and I will be posting updates as they come.

God bless the Arsenal. Iree o.

NB: Mensah is really Welbeck's middle name.