%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Arsenal Have Major Theo Walcott Conundrum
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have a bit of a situation with their decade-boy, Theo Walcott. Given his current status with the club, where should Arsenal be using him, if anywhere?
When the season started, there was so much optimism surrounding Theo Walcott’s ascendancy to the striker role. It was as if everything suddenly made sense. Arsenal didn’t need a striker because they had the perfect foil for Giroud right there in the squad. Plus, he was the longest-tenured Arsenal man, so no one doubted his drive.
Related Story: 5 Players Arsenal Missed Out On In January
When Olivier Giroud faltered, Walcott assumed the role and scored three goals and added three assists in his first six appearances at striker. Everything made so much sense. Call it an epiphany.
However, Walcott started to falter and Giroud was given another go. As if on cue, Giroud kicked it into gear and reached his highest level of performance ever in an Arsenal kit. I’m getting excited again just remembering the sensation of feeling like Arsenal had two viable striking options. It was so wonderful!
More from Pain in the Arsenal
- 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
- 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
- 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
- Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
- 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
But all good things come to an end. Giroud became too strong and reminded us that this offense is essentially built around him. Plus Walcott got hurt, so Arsenal again succumbed to the “Giroud or bust” game. But that was okay because January was just around the corner.
Walcott came back but was relegated to the wings because of injuries. I feel fully assured saying that in thirteen appearances on the wings, Walcott has had one solid performance. That was against Manchester City. His moves are lacking in creativity, he has little to no dribbling ability and his finishing comes and goes, but mostly goes.
So now that I have prattled on, we finally find ourselves at the conundrum. What should Arsenal do with Theo Walcott?
On the one hand, Giroud is so firmly embedded in Wenger’s plans that he probably won’t find any time at striker anyway, barring an injury. Even if he did, his effectiveness fell off towards the end of his tenure at striker, so is it even best to put him back up front? Especially given his poor run of form?
He does not have the goal scoring ability to be that impact sub that comes on and scores goals. That would be a nice role for a number of transfer targets, but it does not fit Theo Walcott.
More from Arsenal News
- 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
- 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
- 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
- Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
- 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
On the other hand, Walcott has been awful on the wings. He has become more of a liability than an offensive tool, so it’s hard to keep playing him there when Alexis is light years ahead of him and Joel Campbell has proven to be far more useful and far less reckless. Walcott is dispossessed twice as often and he is offside three times as often.
So what is his benefit? He could feasibly offset his turnover problems by providing substantial upside, but Campbell has the exact same stats in less time, plus he holds onto the ball better.
Loyalty may bite Wenger in the rear with Theo Walcott. There will come a time when, if Walcott continues to go unused, he will clamor for play time. That will end one of two ways, with Wenger obliging and starting him despite him not earning it or with him being sold. The latter option is not at all likely, so we revert to the former.
It is a major question what has happened to Theo Walcott this year. It’s like suddenly the entire stadium knows what he is going to do before he does it. So that is the big question. Keep him ineffective on the wing or risk even more failure by making him a striker? Is sentimentality enough to keep starting someone as blatantly ineffective as Walcott?
Next: Arsenal's Top 10 Prospects
And while we are on the subject of Theo Walcott, what happened to him? And how can we get him back to the Theo Walcott of old?