Arsenal: Cue the next chapter of Theo Walcott redemption

Arsenal’s fate on the pitch is strangely mirroring their fate on the operating tables. Now Olivier Giroud is out. Is it time for Theo Walcott to do the unthinkable?

Arsenal are now down Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud until the new year and beyond, which leaves a huge gap for someone, anyone, to step up and make a go at life in the first team picture. All that depth that we had been gushing over during the summer is now going to be called into question.

Namely in the attack. We are now confined to the whims of Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott, which as crazy as this may sound, gives me hope that Walcott may get one last (hopefully last) chance to make something of himself.

There is a certain magic in deadlines, in ultimatums, in competition. Walcott has been shoved to the side, justifiably, I should add, and has been out of sight and out of mind for at least a year now. With transfer rumors swirling and the allure of the World Cup around the corner, I don’t know what could be more motivating.

And, early on at least, I am keen to believe that Walcott has felt the pressure himself. When he was brought on against Liverpool, he only had a handful of minutes, but Lee Dixon pointed out the same thing I noticed. He looked like a man on a mission. He looked like he has something he wanted to accomplish and would not be denied that end.

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I don’t expect Walcott to become a world beater. It’s a bit too late for that (or is it…?). All I’m saying is that in the absence of so much of our “late match magic” that was found in Giroud and the undying legs of Ramsey, that maybe Walcott, who is a speed merchant who, strangely enough, has moments where his finishing is sublime, could amount to something.

It’s not like he has ever stopped scoring goals. He has 100 with the club, after all, and these past few years, the one thing we have been able to count on from him is a steady supply of goals.

This could be a fantastic opportunity for redemption. I know, Walcott has had so many “redemption” opportunities in the past and look where he is now. But you never know what can finally click in a guy.

He has never had an impending World Cup spurring him forth. He has never had a potential exit pushing him along. He has never even really been in a position where he is so far out of the limelight that he has needed a series of injuries to find an opening.

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Call it crazy, especially because it’s coming from me, but Walcott could do something with this. Key word there is ‘could.’

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