Arsene Wenger's Walcott Dilemma: Blistering Pace but No End Product

After four years at Arsenal Theo Walcott has failed to progress at a sufficient rate and it may be time for Arsene Wenger to cut his losses on the young winger. Walcott continues to frustrate far more frequently than he delights and seems to lack the pre requisite quality for a spot in the Arsenal squad.

Sky pundits Richard Keys and Andy Grey were overheard by Dutch TV viewers describing Theo Walcott as "shite" during Arsenal’s 4-1 loss to Barcelona. These comments were not intended to be shared with the general public but they do raise a pertinent question: Is Theo Walcott shite?

On the one hand, Walcott is quick. Very, very quick. Wenger is a speed freak who values pace, and Walcott possesses it in abundance. Mere pace on its own is not sufficient or Arsenal would have just signed Dwain Chambers. Walcott also has the ability to get the ball quickly out of his feet and give himself the yard of space that he needs in order to leave opposition defenders trailing.

On the other hand, his final ball is absolutely abysmal. It is becoming obvious that if Walcott did not posses such devastating pace he would probably not be good enough to be a professional footballer, let alone a Premiership player. Time and time again he gets into excellent positions and almost without exception his final ball is wayward.

The opening goal in the second leg of the Barcelona game was a prime example. When Walcott received the ball he did what he does best, sprinting into space, but having done the difficult bit he was left with the simplest of passes to give the onrushing Nicklas Bendtner a tap-in.

While there is possibly not another player in the world who would have made up ground as quickly as Walcott did to get in this position, the pass to Bendtner was so simple that a Sunday league player could have completed it.

Instead, Walcott somehow contrived to roll the ball behind Bendtner giving the Barcelona defender a fantastic opportunity to intercept it. Fortunately for Arsenal the ball bounced loose to Bendtner who was still able to score, but there was a huge element of luck involved. When two players have only the goalkeeper to beat they should not need to depend upon a fortuitous deflection to score a goal.

This moment encapsulated the enigma that is Theo Walcott; his ability to get himself in fantastic positions and his inability to produce anything productive once he does get there.

In the dying seconds of a recent game, in which Walcott’s final ball had been consistently poor, Wolves were pressing men forward in search of an equalizer.

An incisive Arsenal counter attack saw Walcott released on the right by Samir Nasri. He had four Arsenal players to aim for but he still managed to miss them all playing the vital pass behind the onrushing Denilson.

This misplaced pass took all the impetus out of the attack and denied Arsenal a clear cut goal scoring opportunity which could have effectively ended the game as a contest.

Walcott has been training with Wenger and the Arsenal squad for four years, yet still lacks the ability to find that final ball. At the level of football at which Arsenal aspire to compete they cannot afford to continue to carry underperforming players such as Walcott.

On his day Walcott is devastating—witness his hat trick for England against Croatia or his recent goal against Wigan—but his days are few and far between. Throughout his Arsenal career he has only performed in bursts and those bursts are becoming increasingly sporadic.  

Alex Song, Matthieu Flamini, and Kolo Toure are all examples of players who did not appear particularly promising when they first arrived at Arsenal. Wenger persevered with all of them and was rewarded as each eventually established themselves as a world class footballer.

Walcott has already had ample opportunity to make a similar impact and has so far failed to do so. Wenger is not one for a knee jerk reaction and can appear painfully patient with players at times. Walcott’s lack of development must be testing this patience to the limit.

Wenger might argue that Walcott is still young and learning at this level, but he has been learning at this level for over four years now. Pace and potential are no longer enough to justify Theo Walcott’s continued inclusion in the Arsenal squad and sooner or later Wenger is going to have to accept that this is one signing which has not been a success.