Wenger needs Theo Walcott right now, he needs to get him up to speed and the only way to do so is to play him. This is why Wenger has played Walcott for three games back to back. Wenger needs Theo because Bendtner, Rosicky and Van Persie are all out

Match Review – Burnley 1 Arsenal 1 – Premier League

Four points taken from two difficult away matches is pretty good going, it is an amount that many Gooners would have taken before the Liverpool game at Anfield but we as football supporters are greedy, we will always want more and it is the name of the game. The players should always want more as well.

I must admit I was surprised that the likes of Eduardo and Eboue were not selected given the amount of games we have in a short period of time. It was a strange start to the game, Burnley came out swinging a little like how Wolves did in the early stages of the first half. Vermaelen and Almunia doing their best to teach the rest of the team how not to communicate as Vermaelen’s header was tipped over his crossbar from Almunia. Cesc scored within a flash, our first meaningful attack saw Cesc rob Bikey who had a good game overall, compose himself in the box and find the corner like an experienced center forward.

From that point we should have won the game in the next fifteen minutes but it didn’t happen for us. Cesc waltzed through, flicking the ball over his opponents head and lashing his left foot shot into the side netting. I hate to agree with Trevor Francis who was on the commentary team, but our Spanish wizard really should have looked for the opposite corner instead of the near post.

The commentary team made it sound as if Burnley were the only team playing on that pitch, full of praise and compliments whilst dishing out the usual snide and spiteful comments at our beloved club. We should all be used to this now though.

Arshavin drilled a left footed shot against the base of the post after a lay off from Nasri. It was in these moments where Arsenal should have sprinted away from Burnley. They were finding it very difficult to contain our forward movement and Cesc was dictating the game.

I try not to harp back to yesteryear but the likes of Henry, Pires and Ljungberg often won games after half an hour. These days our clinical edge isn’t always at hand, especially when we are missing our best center forward.

Burnley got a strangle hold back on the game and started to put us under pressure. From that point the game changed and chances were not as free flowing, the game should have been buried but they were given a life line and they grabbed it with both hands.

Thomas Vermaelen was late with a tackle in the penalty box, a challenge that had to be 100% right and it wasn’t. Graham Alexander converted the penalty high past Almunia.

Arshavin could have regained the lead moments later when Cesc slipped the Russian through but the big Dane Brian Jensen came off his line to block the shot. Had Cesc’s pass had a little less weight on it then Arshavin would have had more time to execute a finish. The game is about margins, and sometimes they go in your favour and sometimes they do not.

Arsenal could not find a way through and to make matters worse, our best player was substituted minutes before the half time whistle. I could not work out what the problem was at the time as he looked pretty comfortable as he came off the pitch. Luckily for Arsenal his hamstring isn’t serious. Losing Van Persie for a long time is one thing but losing Cesc as well could have proved a mountain perhaps too high to climb, even at this early stage of the season.

Theo Walcott had another ineffective game, his touch and long absences during the game proving to be his downfall. effectively this is Theo’s pre season. He is a young player who hasn’t played games this season and he is playing against eleven other players who have trained every week, have been available for selection every weekend. Do not underestimate how difficult to perform at the top level without sharpness. A sharp Theo Walcott tormented Villareal last season in the Champions League at the Emirates, if that Theo was playing against Burnley then we would have won the game.

Wenger needs Theo Walcott right now, he needs to get him up to speed and the only way to do so is to play him. This is why Wenger has played Walcott for three games back to back. Wenger needs Theo because Bendtner, Rosicky and Van Persie are all out. He already has a depleted forward line and having an unfit Walcott on the bench is no use to anyone at Arsenal.

Lets give the young boy some patiance before throwing him to the Wolves. Football supporters tend to have very short memories, the hype was in full flow after his hat trick for England and now he is the worse player to ever wear the shirt. Theo has plenty to learn, he makes mistakes and his decision making is often way off but do not forget what he can and has done for Arsenal. Any player capable of a run like the one producd at Anfield on that Champions League night is worth sticking with, at least until he regains some match form.

Manuel Almunia is a different story for Arsene Wenger, he is clearly shot of confidence and it needs repairing. Wenger will want his keeper to play his way into form but we cannot throw away points in the process. Almunia was not to blame for the goal conceded but he didn’t look very convincing overall.

Former Manchester United winger, Chris Eagles had a good game for the home team, always giving the home team an outlet. He hit Almunia’s post after wriggling past Silvestre and Nasri.

Eduardo replaced Walcott just after the hour but he was also somewhat off the pace. As he was against Chelsea he was second to many passes, a few more weeks into the season and Eduardo could find himself on the end of those passes.

Almunia’s blushes were spared when he dived over a cross which was side footed into the net from close range only for it to be ruled out for offside. I was surprised when Coyle replaced Bikey who was tough and physical in the midfield. He did a very good job in breaking up some of our moves.

The game transformed into pressure vs counter attack. Burnley put plenty of players behind the ball and broke against us whenever they won it back. It had an end to end cup tie feel about it. William Gallas could have stolen all three points late on but his header flew into Brian Jensen’s hands instead of in the corner of the net.

It should have been three points to add to the three at Anfield but a draw at a ground that has only seen one away victory is a decent result but it is one that needs to be built on over the weekend. Hull City come back to the Emirates in a game that many Gooners have been waiting for. Nothing less than three will do this time.