OPINION
Theo Walcott has never quite lived up to his potential.
The former Arsenal man was admittedly an abnormally precocious teenager, travelling to the World Cup in 2006 as a 17-year-old, but looking back on his career now as he approaches his 30th birthday, he must be a little disappointed with how things have turned out.
Forty-seven international caps and 12 years at Arsenal are nothing to be sniffed at, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that the forward has always been a couple of notches beneath where he was expected to be at every point of his career.
Never has that been more true than it is right now. Walcott made the move to Everton just over a year ago, and the general consensus was that a slightly smaller club he could finally become the main man and really flourish while he was still in his prime.
Instead, the winger has stagnated at Goodison Park and has offered very little when his club have needed him most.
The Toffees are struggling under Marco Silva, with things being made a whole lot worse by a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday, and it’s getting to the point where Walcott is becoming a sad indictment of the regression the club have made.
Admittedly, the attacker didn’t start that game, although he did come on to little effect, but it’s the fact that he was brought into the club as some kind of flashy solution, but instead has started to hold the team back.
When he does play he looks timid and unsure of his own talents when the Blues need leaders and lions at a really crucial time.
With young Ademola Lookman now a fully recognised option, and with the old guard doing very little for the Toffees, Walcott must one of the first ousted by the under-fire Silva.