Why Theo Walcott Should Start the FA Cup Final for Arsenal

Theo Walcott earned the headlines as he scored a hat-trick in Arsenal's final Premier League match of the season, a 4-1 win at home to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. With the FA Cup final set for this Saturday and first-choice striker Olivier Giroud misfiring lately, Walcott's performance gave manager Arsene Wenger plenty to ponder about his team selection.

After watching Walcott's performance on Sunday, the choice seems clear. Walcott should start at center-forward, and Giroud should remain on the bench. Walcott's form, as well as his movement and speed, give Arsenal the best chance to beat Aston Villa in the final.

Throughout the season, Giroud has been Arsenal's first-choice striker, and for good reason. Simply put, Wenger has not had many other options.

For his part, Walcott has made no secret of his desire to play through the middle, but Wenger generally prefers to play him on the flank. Danny Welbeck joined from Manchester United at the end of last-summer's transfer window but, like Walcott, has played mainly on the flank. Alexis Sanchez can fill in as a center-forward, but that is not his best role.

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In addition, Walcott only returned from a long-term injury layoff in January. Since then, however, Wenger has used him only sparingly, leading to questions over the player's future, with only one year left on his contract.

Sunday's hat-trick only helped Walcott's cause, both in regards to his playing time and his contract negotiations. His first goal, a blast across the face of goal and into the top corner, was simply a great finish. His second showed both skill and determination as he took the ball from a defender before depositing his shot inside the near post. For the third, he was in the right place at the right time to tap in.

Speaking to Arsenal's website after the match, Wenger said:

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Without his hat-trick or with his hat-trick, we want him to stay. We are in negotiations and we have started to speak with his agent. We did that before he scored his hat-trick. Last time he got injured he was playing centre forward in a very convincing game against Tottenham Hotspur in January. He got injured and was out for a year. On that day he was injured playing up front.

"

Wenger didn't quite say it in as many words, but Arsenal could not have asked for much more from their starting center-forward. And it's not clear Giroud could have replicated or improved on Walcott's performance.

That's not meant as a knock on Giroud. The Frenchman has led Arsenal's line admirably this season and has been an integral part of the team's successes. But after serving as the Gunners' lone target man for most of the season, he's exhausted. That fatigue has been acutely apparent in recent weeks, with Giroud failing to find the net in his last eight games.

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Walcott, meanwhile, has played well, and not just against West Brom. Although he did not score against Sunderland midweek, he sparked Arsenal's attack when he entered the match as a second-half substitute. The match finished scoreless, but Walcott posed his side's greatest attacking threat.

"He was the one who created the chances (against Sunderland), and I always said that he could play through the middle because he has good movement, good finishing and he did that well today," Wenger said, per Arsenal's website.

It should be noted that Giroud and Walcott are different types of players. Whoever starts at center-forward, Arsenal will likely be considered favorites at kick-off, but the identity of the starter could determine how the Gunners play. Giroud offers a physical element, acting as a central cog in the attack and playing as a burly target man, with decent returns on goals and assists. Walcott provides pace and movement, and when he's on form, his attributes can be highly valuable in Arsenal's setup.

As B/R's James McNicholas wrote:

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West Brom couldn’t cope with the speed and variety of Walcott’s movement. The accusation that he lacks a football brain was made to look absurd by the way he pulled the Baggies’ back four out of shape.

…

The likes of Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil seemed to relish playing with a striker with the pace to stretch defences by running in behind. Arsenal’s play was immediately less predictable and more penetrative. Giroud has been outstanding during the second half of this season, but Walcott may have pipped him at the post for a place in the final XI.

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McNicholas also noted that playing Walcott in the middle, rather than on the flank, would limit the potential damage Walcott can do defensively. A player like Sanchez, McNicholas argues, gives Arsenal a much stronger contribution defensively than Walcott, who is suspect defensively.

Looking ahead to the FA Cup final, Aston Villa could be an ideal opponent for Walcott. Tim Sherwood's men play a relatively high defensive line, which would leave space in which Walcott could run. The attacking midfielders, especially Ozil, would thus be able to spray passes over the top and into channels, hoping to take advantage of Walcott's superior speed.

What's more, it's not likely that Villa will alter their setup against Arsenal. Unlike Sunderland and Swansea, who secured results at the Emirates by playing primarily defensive football, Villa under Sherwood attack constantly. As B/R's Sam Tighe told me personally:

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It's almost certain the final will be an open game; despite the film showing Arsenal coming up short against sides who defend deep (Swansea City, Sunderland), that likely won't alter Tim Sherwood's attacking brief. There's a chance he tightens up the back line after the horror show on the south coast, but the tweaks will be individual-based and the high line will likely remain. Through Sherwood's tenure so far he's shown absolutely no inclination to play cautious football—bar perhaps the final 10 minutes of the semi-final against Liverpool—and while the result can't quite be called, almost all of Villa's games since his inception as manager have been exciting, end-to-end affairs.

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That reads like a recipe for success for Walcott, if he starts. Giroud is the man who led Arsenal to this point, but Walcott appears to be the better option as Arsenal look to lift the cup for the second straight season.

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