In many ways Theo Walcott has summed up Arsenal’s season – drastically inconsistent, primed to choke on the big stages and more or less witless. Theo is symptomatic of the lack of direction at the club. Arsenal’s indecision in the transfer market is oftentimes reflected in Theo Walcott’s lack of thought with the ball at his feet. As hard as it is to say, at the moment both entities look largely clueless. Just what does the future hold for Arsenal Football Club? Has Theo showed any signs of improvement this season?
Theo Walcott joined Arsenal in 2006 at a time where optimism was at a high. They’d won the FA Cup the season previous and had made it to the final of the Champions League. Unfortunately, the club has been on a downward curve ever since. Now optimism and belief in both Arsenal and Theo Walcott is at an all time low.
Just take his first half performance against AC Milan on Wednesday. How he was able to leave Bacary Sagna inexcusably exposed whilst providing absolutely nothing going forward is beyond me. No fit healthy young player enjoys being subbed off at half-time, but I think it’s fair to say that Theo deserved it. It was yet another example of Walcott struggling to have any affect against big teams.
Yes, he was great against Blackburn, but Arsenal need players who can perform at all levels of the game and questions remain as to whether Theo’s capable of this.
It’s difficult to see where Theo Walcott’s poor form has come from. He has so much to play for: a place in the Euro 2012 squad, a new contract, silverware with Arsenal, but most of all – the chance to prove himself worthy. I can’t claim to have any real insight into Walcott’s contract situation, but the fact that he hasn’t signed a new one seems to suggest he’s looking for a pay-bump.
There is no other club top club in English football that would have given Theo as many chances as Arsenal. His reluctance to sign of the dotted line strikes me as patently stupid and disrespectful. There are so many wingers doing better jobs with other clubs that are being paid less and yet Theo doesn’t seem to see how lucky he is.
Just look at the contrast between Theo and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, both in terms of raw talent and attitude. At the moment they’re miles apart and Walcott has until the end of the season to prove his worth.
For now, however, Gervinho and AOC have to start out on the wings. At least until Theo Walcott gets his head in the right place.
Follow @ThePerfectPass on Twitter for details on all the latest updates and various football-related musings.
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.
Great lad but a useless footballer. Let him go, we don’t need him!
I think many of you are mistaken theo Walcott .he deosn’t misfiring nothing but, he alway keep good pressure onto the side that they are playing againts and he has a good crossing also.so I guess theo is better then chamach, park
One horrible show in a big stage doesn’t make Theo rubbish. Who has forgotten how he torments Chelsea? What he did to Milan in ’08? We have to remember he is 22.
Theo walcott has had 6 years to prove his worth. To me and I believe to most of the Gooners, he has not improved even the slightest. Do not compare him to Chamakh and park. Theo is English, at least he should show some spirit when playing for an English club. His e and expression says it all when he misses a one on one chance that he does not have any confidence nor composure in what hes doing. his finishing is not cool and calm rather panicky, which proves that hes not a natural striker. hes lucky that hes stayed here for so long and should pay back Wenger and the board for the trust they had in him. Still he continues to let all the Gooners especially Arsenal down!!!hes a clown!!!
Whats this nonesense about being 22 and comparing him to park and chamark. Park has not been given enough playing time to prove himself whilst Walcott has played virtually every match this season. The truth is Walcott level of play now is a complete shame and should not be in the starting line up for us. About his age, Wiltshire is younger than Walcott and has proved himself. Please forget the age he is a weak link for us in arsenal.
No second thought, sell Theo as quickly as possible. Absolutely useless.
The reason that Theo Walcott is misfiring or not on form is simple- we fast tracked him into the England squad, we hyped him up, we expected so much from such a young player and WE DEMANDED that he perform. He was clearly a good player when he first arrived from Southampton- but he wasn’t EPL class yet and years of pressure is enough to put anyones confidence out of shape. We played him before he was truly ready. Erickson kinda fucked us with that one and Fabio was no better. He would be thriving if he had had more training in the reserves and he wouldn’t be where he is now. A scapegoat for Arsenal fans over eagerness to find our own Cristiano Ronaldo. And the same thing is happening again with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Arsenal fans really need to back off and let the kids develope. Or in 5 years time we could be going through this all over again
wegners fault for not buying some world class players for walcot to look up to,the likes of denilson and rosisky ramsey just dont inspire anyone.