Arsenal And Theo Walcott Have Simply Grown Apart

Arsenal’s longest-tenured and highest paid man, Theo Walcott, has reached a point in his career where he no longer has any relevance at the club.

Theo Walcott has had a storied career at Arsenal for someone who is just 26 years old. His past is speckled with injuries and across ten years, we have seen so much hype and potential being associated with ‘the fastest man in the game’. But when you actually get down to it, Theo Walcott has only had just over three years of consistent relevance.

It began in his breakout year of 2010, when he scored nine goals and seven assists. That momentum carried him through the next season (eight goals and eight assists), his biggest season in 2012/13 (14 goals, 10 assists) and into early in the following season, where an injury put a halt to his good run.

Here we are, two years later, and it is pretty clear that ever since that injury cruelly derailed his 2013/14 season, Walcott’s place on the team has become a bit of a stretch.

Consider where he fits into the team. I’ll give you some time to think about it, because it’s not an easy process, finding somewhere to put him.

If you consider him to be a striker, then he sits third on the totem pole behind Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck. Even that may be slightly overrating him. Arsenal’s offense is run through a hold-up striker like the two mentioned. Walcott is not that guy and it is clear that be becomes a bit of a liability when Arsenal try to shoehorn him into the striker role because the tactics are not altered in the slightest.

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If you consider him to be a right winger, then he sits third on the totem pole as well. With Aaron Ramsey inevitably moving back out wide and Joel Campbell still being criminally underused, Walcott again becomes a step down. That’s not even including a potential rise of the Ox. Plus, 26 makes him the elder statesman.

If you consider him to be a left winger, then slot him into third again. Alexis will never be passed up and behind him is Danny Welbeck when he is not playing striker. You also have to consider the rise of Alex Iwobi, who is only going to get better.

The last possible spot for Walcott is the spot he occupied earlier in his career – the guy with gobs of potential that could become something great. Even there he sits third in the order behind Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi. Plus, the fact that he is 26 pretty much eliminates him from holding that spot any longer.

Walcott may be being paid the most of anyone on the team, but that doesn’t mean that he has to be forced into the lineup in order to accommodate his wishes. Until he finds a relevant spot where he can deliver consistent performances, he can’t be anything more than a sub. Either that or Wenger has to figure out some other tactical formation where Walcott can be utilized because as of now, it just isn’t working.