Aaron Lennon v Theo Walcott:

This isn’t the first time that this question has been raised on this site, but it’s the first time I find myself genuinely uncertain of the answer. When it comes to the Theo Walcott/Aaron Lennon debate, I’ve always gone for Walcott, simply because on a purely statistical level he has produced the goods and has continued to produce the goods. Watching his performances this season however, I can’t help but feel disappointed.

He doesn’t seem to be a player who can dominate games. Given his fearsome pace, it’s a bit of a surprise that fullbacks aren’t more scared to play against him. The honest truth however, is that he’s just not a scary presence and if you play against him the right way is easily dealt with.

This inability to dominate games or to really assert his authority often means that he’s on the sidelines of entire games. Sure he’ll fire in the occasional good cross, or grab the occasional goal, but what good is that if he spends the rest of the game being wasteful or contributing nothing? Case in point: The England game against Montenegro where Walcott fired in an excellent cross for Ashley Young before proceeding to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the game.

This inconsistency over 90 minutes has led Theo to pick up fairly impressive statistics, but not the plaudits of the pundits or the adulation of the fans.

When it comes to the Walcott/Lennon debate we also have to remember that Lennon has had injury difficulties for quite some time now and it’s been a while since we’ve seen the player at the peak of his game.

Both players are lightning quick and both are somewhat inconsistent, but at the moment it’s tough to say who’s the better player. It may well be that we have to wait for Lennon to get regular games and find his form once more before we know for sure.

We should also bear in mind that Walcott is in essence a striker who Wenger chooses to play out on the wing. I doubt we’ll really see the best from Theo until he’s put in his favoured position and he gets a chance to attempt to emulate Thierry Henry. Playing just behind the last man is where Theo will really get a chance to use his pace.

But what’s fan opinion? Who the better player: Theo or Aaron?

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