Arsenal FC: Playing Yossi Benayoun Could Help Theo Walcott Score More Goals

Playing Yossi Benayoun more often could help Theo Walcott produce more performances like the one which saw him fire a two-goal salvo to down Tottenham Hotspur. Having a true midfielder, rather than a winger or a wide forward on the left, encouraged Walcott to act more as a supporting striker.

As the only other forward on the pitch, Walcott was committed to supplementing Robin van Persie more often. This meant frequent runs into central areas and drifting inside to play closer to Van Persie, rather than remaining close to the touchline. 

These factors increased Walcott's opportunities in front of goal and, inevitably, his potent combination of lethal pace and underrated finishing paid dividends.

Aligning the team in a similar way for future games is something Arsene Wenger should seriously consider.

It would be a tough choice to make, given the litany of wide forwards Arsenal have in the squad. It's not quite clear what kind of function or how big a role the likes of Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would have in this kind of tactical structure.

Yet Arsenal's particular style of play works best the more technically gifted and creative ball players are in the team. When Walcott is partnered with another winger type, his remit becomes beating defenders down the flank and launching deliveries into the box, neither of which are his strengths. 

Benayoun was active, intelligent and industrious over on the left flank and added a touch more guile and creativity to Arsenal's build-up play. He made Arsenal more fluid and reduced their dependency on supplying ammunition for Van Persie from wide areas.

Benayoun concentrated less on providing natural width and more on making darting runs into the middle. This allowed him to link up well with Arsenal's most advanced central midfielder Tomas Rosicky, which improved the general movement of the team.

The 31-year-old has called for more games. Now could be the time to include him and free up Walcott to play a more direct style, based on goals rather than assists.