Theo Walcott Should Be Given a Chance to Shine Against Burnley

Saturday could be the day Theo Walcott's season turns around.

With arguably the most important game of the season thus far against Porto in the Champions League coming up midweek, Arsene Wenger has a predicament in his squad selection for the upcoming game against Burnley at home Saturday.

Abou Diaby, Andrei Arshavin, and William Gallas are all regaining full fitness, and all three were sorely missed while they were out with injuries—especially in the first leg defeat at Porto.

But with a very winnable game at home on Saturday, Wenger probably will not rush all three back to the first team.

Aaron Ramsey is out with a broken leg and Alex Song is suspended, so Diaby should play. Arshavin and Gallas shouldn't be needed to beat the Clarets, and both will probably be left on the bench if they are in the squad at all.

Wenger's three-pronged attack will be spearheaded by Nicklas Bendtner, who has scored in his last two league games and scored for Denmark midweek. Wenger has Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Eboue, Eduardo, and Walcott as his other options to play on the wings beside Bendtner.  

Two weeks ago, against Sunderland, Wenger chose to play Eboue at right back and Walcott on the right wing ahead of him. Sunderland played a very defensive 4-5-1 (curiously starting Anton Ferdinand in midfield), and Arsenal's attack flowed mostly through Eboue and Walcott on the right-hand side.  

For the first time that I can remember this season, Arsenal looked to play Walcott in behind the defense and gave the young England winger a chance unleash his pace on Sunderland left back George McCartney, who struggled all game to deal with him.

Burnley will most likely play the same defensive formation and look to hold out for a draw. The problem with that is that McCartney, who is not by any means a great left back, is twice the player of Burnley left back Steven Jordan.  

This season has been difficult for Walcott, as injuries rattled him at the beginning of the season (as well as being relegated to the bench for the U-21s in the summer), and so far this season, Walcott has struggled to get a run of games and build some confidence.  A matchup against Jordan is exactly what the doctor ordered for Walcott to get the confidence he so desperately needs.

As the Premier League marathon of a season wears on, players begin running on tired legs and struggle to keep up with pacy players. Thus, the springtime is when Walcott has typically shone for Arsenal.

Last season, Walcott scored in three straight games in April (Wigan away, Villareal away, and Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinal). Two seasons ago, Walcott scored four goals during the second half of the season and also went the entire pitch to manufacture the goal at Liverpool that (briefly) put Arsenal in the Champions League semifinal.  

Aston Villa scored five goals against Burnley because Burnley could not deal with the raw speed of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, and Stewart Downing. Walcott is arguably faster than all three of the Villa playmakers.

Therefore, looking at Walcott's tendency to shine in the spring and Burnley's difficulty dealing with pace, I would be disappointed not to see young Theo in the starting lineup.  

Walcott should be given a chance to get his disappointing season on the right track and dominate against lesser opposition. With the World Cup rapidly approaching, he will be desperate to play well, impress Fabio Capello, and book his ticket to South Africa. He needs to put the disappointment of his first half of the season behind him.  

Frankly, it's now or never.