Arsenal: No World Cup for Theo Walcott if he stays

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 27: Theo Walcott of Arsenal and Per Mertesacker of Arsenal celebrate after The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 27: Theo Walcott of Arsenal and Per Mertesacker of Arsenal celebrate after The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Arsenal’s longest tenured man, Theo Walcott, is flirting with an exit, and for the sake of his hopes of playing in the World Cup, he better.

Arsenal have, for the longest time, tried to make Theo Walcott a major player in their successes. The problem has been that their successes have been few and far between, making their reliance on Walcott a major question. Was he actually going to help them to overcome their title drought?

Related Story: Arsenal's 15 Greatest Strikers Of All Time

It’s only gotten worse for Walcott. While he did get a well-deserved 100th goal with the Gunners, he also sat by and watched as his position was essentially fed into an industrial sized paper shredder.

It doesn’t exist anymore.

With the 3-4-2-1, only players capable of running centrally are required, and while the Gunners don’t have an abundant amount of the type, they do have two of the best they could possible have, with youngsters like Alex Iwobi pulling up the reserve duties.

Even if Walcott was capable of playing centrally, he would be starting on the back foot. And he doesn’t play centrally. We tried that. he admitted himself that it was a bad idea and that he should go back to playing on the wings.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

Which raises a concern for Walcott, seeing as how he undoubtedly wants to play in the 2018 World Cup, as it damn well might be the last realistic shot he has of being a major player for an English international side.

Lacking a position is one way to eliminate yourself from contention internationally, and that’s what Walcott is looking at at Arsenal. So essentially what this comes down to is if Walcott wants to play in the 2018 World Cup, and have a big role, he is going to have to leave. And honestly, West Ham is a fantastic place for him to go.

There, he will be part of a team needing to rebuild, but with the resources to do so. And if they want to start with Walcott then they clearly have something in mind.

I can be harsh on Walcott. I’ll admit that. But this concept of him exiting isn’t even based on the fact that the Gunners should cash in on him now before his value really starts to take a hit (although that little bit helps). This is based on Walcott’s best interests.

Next: Arsenal's 30 Best Transfers Of Past 30 Years

The man wants to have an impact internationally and he is clearly not making a difference at the Emirates. So solve both problems and let him go to the Hammers at a pretty juicy profit.