Arsenal have once again been linked with a move for Crystal Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha, and it seems some fans are happy to sign him… on one condition.
Zaha is being linked with a £35m move to Arsenal in order to replace Alexis Sanchez, who can’t wait to leave.
The 25-year-old isn’t even in the same bracket as the Chilean. He’s scored twice in five appearances for Palace this term and seven in 35 (11 assists) last.
As a result, Gooners have been pretty amused by the rumour, which the Daily Star insists isn’t happening as we’re already ‘closing in’ on a £60m move for Lyon midfielder, Nabil Fekir.
However, this got me thinking, what if Zaha was a replacement for Theo Walcott and not Alexis, as is being widely reported?
The 28-year-old has been at Arsenal for over a decade and is yet to have a truly consistent season. This term, he’s yet to make a Premier League start and has been pretty poor during his run outs in Europe. He’s still scored three goals during that time but I think most Gooners are convinced he needs to go, especially seeing as he has under two years left on his contract.
As an English player of ‘prime’ age, Theo could potentially get Arsenal a bit of money. Just look at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool. No one’s really sure how we got them to part with £35m (plus add-ons) for the 24-year-old yet here we are.
If Arsenal could sell Theo for anything upwards of £20m and sign Zaha as his replacement for £35m, would this be a good move? Or am I just that sick of watching Theo that I’m getting desperate?
I wasn’t sure, so we put it to you guys on Twitter and got a pretty overwhelming response. For the most part, it appears that the majority of you would be fine with us signing Zaha, given his basic ability and age, IF he was Theo’s replacement and not Alexis’.
Definitely! The guy is about to hit his peak years and we should take full advantage.
— GunnerBallZ⚽️ (@GunnerBallZ) November 14, 2017
Yes if he was Walcotts replacement, because quite frankly I’m better than Walcott. But Sanchez’s replacement needs to be in the draxler, lemar category.
— Ollie Pemberton (@pemberton_ollie) November 14, 2017
Doubt we will sell Walcott but acquiring Zaha Would be good. Given the Sanchez and Özil situation.
— Stephen Siu (@Stephen_Siu) November 14, 2017
As a replacement for Walcott…..yep.
— Ben Mingam (@BenMingam) November 14, 2017
He’s certainly a more exciting player than Walcott, and we need some genuine wide players badly. Still, I’d be somewhat underwhelmed by Zaha.
— Hectör (@HctrPan) November 14, 2017
He was a gooner as a boy. Feel like he’s the kind of player who wouldn’t fail for lack of trying. Whether he’s of the required level not sure.
— shaving Arshavin (@Christo21497023) November 14, 2017
Pretty much everyone agrees that Zaha is in no way able to fill the Chilean’s boots and instead we should be bringing in someone more on Julian Draxler or Thomas Lemar’s level.
Sell Theo? Yes. Buy Zaha? No. He’s nice but we should only buy players in the class above him, give our young players opportunities to rotate in.
— one arsene wenger (@oawgunner) November 14, 2017
No. Massively overrated. Walcott should go whatever. He’s Perry Groves without the personality and with an Amex black card.
— Steven L Powell (@StevenPowell4) November 14, 2017
A good point, however, is that we should actually be making way for Reiss Nelson. The 17-year-old’s preferred position is on the right wing but at the moment, every time he makes an appearance for the first team, Wenger’s putting him at wing-back.
Theoretically, without Theo in the way, he could break into the first team and excel. Is he too young to be thrown into the action? Or could signing another winger prevent him from getting a proper chance?
No, because we need space in the squad for Nelson to play in his best position.
— Felipe Lois (@LipeL) November 14, 2017
Sell Walcot and Sanchez, sign Insigne which is cheaper and more proven in terms of consistency than Lemar, and make room for Nelson. Keep Ozil. And try to sign Oblak.
— Julian K. Nugroho (@deemaz85) November 14, 2017
Nope. Say what you will about Theo, but he posts numbers every single season. Zaha is neither a goal scorer nor consistent creator.
— Sarcastic&Bombastic (@SarcyToTheNth) November 14, 2017
The general consensus is just to sell Theo and, if Zaha does come on board, bring someone better in to replace Alexis.
If we only sign the Crystal Palace winger and end up with him in the starting XI instead of Alexis-friggin’-Sanchez, Gooners are going to be pretty disappointed.