Is Walcott the future of Arsenal & England?

Go Theo..

Theo Walcott has had a lot to face this year. He turned 21 in March and had a glitzy party to celebrate with his gorgeous girlfriend Melanie Slade. That’s the upside of his year, and possibly the best he’s had all year.

Steve takes out time for 11G & tries to demystify the enigma called Theo Walcott. His recent form, preperations for the season ahead, expectations et al. Check his aptly titled blog ‘Highbury Heart‘ & follow him on Twitter @reznuk Read on..

At the start of last season he picked up a knock on England duty, and it persisted. Joined by further injuries, his year was blighted, and his appearances few and far between. With no chance to build up any kind of form, his confidence dropped and he couldn’t manage to show a display worthy of an Arsenal starting place.

So when England manager Fabio Capello chose to omit him from his World Cup squad, it came as no surprise to many. Suddenly the critics came out of the woodwork – Chris Waddle claiming “I just think he doesn’t seem to understand the game”. However, coming from a famous idiot I’d certainly doubt that opinion.

Others were more generous, claiming Theo’s form had only dipped because of his unfortunate injury riddled season. Theo himself said “I completely respect Mr.Capello’s decision”. Note the word ‘respect’ – not ‘understand’ or ‘accept’. Messi claimed to be shocked at Walcott’s omission from the England team, having been on the receiving end of a great performance from Walcott when Arsenal met Barcelona at The Emirates Stadium. Messi is clearly a genius, and knows another talent when he sees it. Martin Keown on the other hand called Theo a “one-trick pony”, with “poor decision making”. Not what you want to hear from a former Arsenal star.

So what did Theo do while his compatriots embarrassed themselves and England in the World Cup? Did he add additional skills to his repertoire or go for rigorous fitness regime during the summer’s? Did he review Arsenal games in attempt to find his flaws & try to improve them? There’s nothing to suggest he trained any more or learned any more. Certainly he didn’t meet up with any of the Arsenal training coaches (unless you witnessed any secret training sessions).

I suspect he did what the rest of us did – watch England, squirming with embarassment. In his case though, probably thinking to himself “if only I’d been there, I’d have done so much better”. Who can argue? Certainly Lennon, who I regard highly, completely failed to impress himself in any of the games. Sean Wright-Philips, who can’t get a starting place at his own club, simply demonstrated that he wasn’t up to the job.

Now Arsenal have started training again on the 14th July, and there’s a first game under their belts (or at least half a game since pretty much the whole team was subbed at half-time).

You’ll be completely unsurprised to find that Theo picked up a knock in training – the first one to do so! Still, it can’t have been that bad since he got the second half of the match.

How did he perform you ask? Arsene Wenger felt Theo looked sharp and who can disagree? I would say he looked quick, as always. Certainly he got to the byline really quickly on quite a number of occasions. Unfortunately, on most of those occasions he did exactly the same as he did again and again during last season – failed to look up and crossed the ball into space instead of to one of his own players. It was the same against Sturm Graz the other night.

It’s probably fair to say that this season is make or break for Theo. Yes, he’s only 21, but he’s spent much of his time at Arsenal injured and failing to make an impression when he has played. He has a career ahead of him, but is it a career at Arsenal, or in the top flight? Can he demonstrate that he has indeed got a footballing brain?

I spent last season, like most of you probably, watching Theo, when he did appear, run really fast to the byline and fail to make the cross in to anybody. I’m not saying I agree with the nay-sayers, I do think he has potential. The joke about Theo forgetting to take the ball with him when he sprints off, is getting really old. Yet there is some truth in it, and it’s a truth Theo needs to address this season. Arsene Wenger has a penchant for intelligent players, and surely he saw something in Theo that made him believe here was a player with more than just a good sprint.

It has been argued that Theo out on the wing is playing in the wrong position, one that doesn’t suit him. Some folks say he should be played down the middle. The odd times he has though, his ability to fall over at a light touch from the opposition doesn’t show him in his best light. At least down the wing he has an opportunity and space to use his speed. If he can learn to cross the ball to his own players, he’d be deadly.

Yes, I know some of those comments are a bit harsh. Sitting in the crowd at the Emirates however you will definitely hear much worse.

It is time though for Theo to demonstrate not only his footballing brain, but also his will to succeed. During the World Cup he was certainly making the right noises – about fighting this season to prove his ability. Well pre-season has started and now he has his chance – by the time the first game against Liverpool, we will want to see him starting, and showing not only great sprinting, but great team play and great football.

Go Theo.. Go Gunners..

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Note: If any of you want to share your views/opinions on the club from N5 (read: Arsenal!), leave Us a comment at the bottom. We’ll get back right away & be glad to give you a chance. Keep Gunning..

reznuk