Arsenal Have Theo Walcott Pegged All Wrong

Arsenal senior statesman Theo Walcott has fallen out of favor, but there is one man that still has the utmost faith in him. That man is Arsene Wenger.

Not many people see much use in Theo Walcott anymore. There’s a reason why he is a non-factor in Arsenal’s current situation. Welbeck and Giroud are both superior to him up front. Out wide, Campbell, Alexis and Iwobi are all far superior to our speedy winger as well.

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However, it doesn’t matter what we think. Arsene Wenger still believes in Walcott, and he believes that his could-have-been-next-Thierry-Henry still has a massive part to play in Arsenal’s future.

“He is very important in the way he goes behind the defenders. That is a quality you don’t find often anymore. It gives us something that is very important in our offensive game. This season I feel he has been very important to us and shown he has developed well.”

It is understandable why Wenger doesn’t want to give up on Walcott just yet. After all, he pulled Henry from Monaco as a winger and turned him into the best striker to ever touch the Premier League. When Henry had departed, he had Robin van Persie, a winger-turned-striker from Feyenoord, to convert and he did that exceptionally as well.

The next in line was Theo Walcott. With the wages he is being paid, he should have already lived up to those expectations but he hasn’t. Essentially, Danny Welbeck has gone ahead and pipped the spot of winger-turned-striker ahead of his English team mate. It is still a work in progress, but it is looking far more promising than Walcott’s potential. Plus, Welbeck is a year younger.

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Wenger is right in reasserting his faith in Walcott, but what exactly does he expect to come of it? His ‘getting in behind’ defenses has proven to be incredibly anticlimactic this year, as he is offside more times than not. Not only that, but aside from that brief stretch of supplanting Olivier Giroud, his striking potential has been nonexistent.

In terms of being on the wings, he doesn’t have the technical ability that Alexis, Campbell or even Iwobi have. Those three have so much more going for them than just pure speed.

Fitting Walcott into Arsenal’s scheme is going to take the masterstroke of all masterstrokes from Wenger. He has phased himself out of contention at his two favored positions and if Arsenal wants to overcome this incredible funk, they are going to need to up the competition at both of Walcott’s failed positions.

This is Walcott’s first year back from a major injury. That has to be taken into consideration. However, it’s easy to see that he has actually digressed. He was much better at the start of the year than he is now, so what business did that injury have in this year? Perhaps fitness, but it doesn’t look to be his fitness that is lacking. It looks to be his focus and sharpness, things that have never hindered an injury-ridden Walcott as much in the past.

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There is no shame in trying to give Walcott a chance, but the risk is that he becomes a burden, like Arteta. If Arsenal continues to progress and Walcott remains at the same level he has always been at, what business does Arsenal have with him?