Arsenal: Theo Walcott has found a piece of life in the ashes

Arsenal certainly swerved away from Theo Walcott when they switched to a back three, but in the ashes of his North London career, he may have found some life.

Few players at Arsenal will spark such polarizing opinions as Theo Walcott. Some will carry the belief that he has been a true servant to the club and some will carry the belief that he is a sycophant with no desire to actually make a difference.

Oddly enough, both sides have a good deal of evidence to support their claim, which makes the polarization intensify all the more. There just isn’t a clear-cut understanding for Walcott, although most will agree that he should be sold, as he isn’t doing much good here.

I have fallen into the negative Walcott camp, that has always been of the opinion that the sooner we part with him, the better. I often jokingly (but not really) call him the bane of my existence as a writer because the more I curse him, the better he does and the more I praise him, the worse he does.

He lives to upset my assessment of him, so it seems.

However, when you stay with a club for a decade and score over 100 goals for them, you naturally get a lot of credit there alone. But still, the future of Walcott is not something that is too widely argued. No matter what he is or what he could have been, the gross majority would like to see him leave.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

So leave it to me to kick the dead horse and ponder if Walcott may have actually found some life yet again.

When the Gunners swapped the back four for the back three, Walcott lost all utility. He isn’t a ball carrier and he sure as hell isn’t a forward or a defender. But, in switching to the back four in the Europa League and letting Walcott play in his favored right wing position, things changed.

Walcott looked good. He looked determined, and he embodied what Arsene Wenger had said about him before the match – that he was more passionate than ever to win his place back.

If the goal is to change to a back four then the grand total of zero hope has to start turning into actual chances. Walcott, when on his game, is an effective weapon. You know it’s true when I, Mr. Anti-Walcott, admit it. It’s in his fluctuations that I have doubted him.

And granted, a 6-0 drubbing against a lifeless BATE Borisov is nothing to build a house on. It’s a start, though.

Next: Predicted XI Against Southampton

If Walcott can build on that start with enough determination, then hell, why not think about the future he has at Arsenal?

Home/Arsenal News