Why Theo Walcott Will Be the Arsenal Player to Watch out for in Pre-Season

Once the Euros comes to a close, players across England will begin to return to their clubs for pre-season training.

At first, the training grounds will only be populated by those who haven't taken part in this summer's various international tournaments. Joining the lesser lights of the Arsenal squad will be one particularly high-profile player: Theo Walcott.

The lightning-quick Englishman may well prove to be the man to keep an eye on as the preparations for Arsenal’s 2016/17 season ramp up.

When the Gunners squad return to training, Walcott will have no excuse not to be ready for action. He finished the season in good health, which is relatively unusual for a player whose career has been hindered by a series of serious injuries. 

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He’ll also have a point to make. Walcott must have begun 2015/16 expecting to form part of Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the Euros. Instead, he found himself overlooked at the last moment. Not only did he miss out on the final squad, Walcott suffered the indignity of not even making Hodgson’s preliminary squad of 26 players.

Instead, the England boss opted to gamble on the inexperience of the uncapped Marcus Rashford rather than call on Walcott. The former Southampton man had himself been the shock pick as a teenager for the 2006 World Cup. This time, he was the victim of a similarly surprising selection.

It will have been a familiar pain. Walcott has missed out on big tournaments before, either due to injury or a coach’s strategic whims. In this instance, he simply wasn’t in the requisite form to justify his selection. 

With relatively few internationals in which to test out his players, Hodgson had to make his decisions based on club form. Walcott must face up to the fact that his substandard performances with Arsenal cost him his place at the Euros.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say his lack of performances for Arsenal. Walcott did not start a Premier League game after the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on February 28.

That game seemed to act as a painful illustration of the flaws in Walcott’s game. He was selected as part of a mobile attack along with Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, with Wenger hoping to create an alternative to the one-paced Olivier Giroud. However, he barely figured in the game and was hauled off after just 63 ineffective minutes.

It appears that Wenger’s patience with Walcott ran out on that day. He never regained his place in the side, restricted to only a handful of substitute cameos and a run-out in the FA Cup replay with Hull City. 

Walcott had begun the season with a new contract and a new position. After years of speculation that he would develop into a central striker, Wenger finally appeared ready to entrust him with the position. He made a good start, starring in impressive wins over Leicester City and Manchester United in the autumn.

However, Walcott struggled for consistency in the new role. Although he had the speed to threaten defences in behind, he seemed to struggle with other facets of playing as a centre-forward.

Walcott’s movement appeared unsophisticated and at times a little unwilling. He was also unable to grasp the art of playing with his back to goal.

Wenger seemed to become somewhat exasperated. Asked in April how he felt Walcott’s development as a striker was going, the Gunners boss told ESPN FC's Mattias Karen:

"

Not as well as you could have expected. He had good periods in the season. I think recently he has gone through a much more difficult period. But he will come back.

[...]

The problem with Theo is he wants to play on the right and through the middle. You have to fix yourself somewhere. When he does go through the middle he thinks maybe it's better for me on the right.

"

Wenger sounded frustrated, and it was a feeling shared by former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry. Ironically, Henry is in many respects exactly the type of striker Walcott would seek to emulate. However, the former France international remained unconvinced by his supposed successor.

Speaking to Press Association Sport (h/t ESPN FC), Henry said of the 27-year-old: "I always have a mixed reaction, Theo Walcott has been in the game for 10 years, you should know about him. You always have something to prove, he should know what he can offer to a team. By now he should know what his position is, but it is not clear."

When pre-season starts, Walcott should indeed have something to prove. Having fallen so dramatically out of favour with club and country, he is now facing a fight to keep his place at Arsenal. 

The Gunners have bid for Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, as noted by Jonny Singer in the Daily Mail, a striker who shares several of Walcott’s key attributes. They are both extremely quick and powerful, but Vardy appears to have superior predatory instincts and a more composed head in front of goal.

It is probably no coincidence that Walcott himself has been linked with a move away. Clubs such as West Ham have been associated with a possible bid by Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail. With a £25 million fee mooted, it must be tempting for Wenger to cash in on a player who ended the season some way from his first-team plans.

The one thing that will give Walcott hope is the long-term injury sustained by Danny Welbeck. That means that even if Vardy does arrive, Walcott may well be required to ensure Arsenal have sufficient depth in attack. Wenger is likely to want to begin the season with three centre-forwards in the squad, and Walcott and Giroud look likely to comprise two of those.

Welbeck’s misfortune could offer Walcott a final chance to prove himself in north London. Pre-season will be a critical period of him: With Giroud unlikely to rejoin training for some time as he recovers from his exertions at the Euros, he may be the first-choice forward in the club’s first few friendlies.

A few goals in those matches could give Wenger cause to reconsider Walcott’s value. Alternatively, more disappointing displays could be him ushered towards the exit. After a decade at Arsenal, Walcott’s future is on the line this summer.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.