Arsenal: Does Theo Walcott Deserve the Contract Extension He Desires?

It is exceedingly difficult to chastise Theo Walcott after the England winger provided such a vital contribution to Arsenal's Champions League survival this season (he scored in both legs of August's playoff draw against Udinese Calcio, which Arsenal won 3-1 on aggregate).

In just over six seasons of Premier League play with Arsenal, Walcott has bagged 34 goals, but recent performances have begged a question that is growing in fervency.

Does Walcott, whose current contract expires in 2013, deserve an extension?

Ever since arriving from Southampton in 2006 as a 17-year-old wunderkind (he was famously named by Sven Goran-Eriksson to the English squad for that year's World Cup), Walcott has always seemed like a bit of a Pygmalion experiment for Arsene Wenger.

The French manager has long maintained that his side play the game a certain way—aesthetically pleasing, redolent in slick passing and smart movement and overloading on technical ability.

It's why Wenger hails his experiment extraordinaire, Robin van Persie, who simply cannot stop scoring for the club (25 goals in his last 26 EPL games) as being a complete footballer as opposed to an out-and-out goal scorer.

Could he say the same about Theo's development? Wenger has continually defended his man with staunch consistency, especially this past week in the face of biting criticism, Sky Sports reported.

Walcott, swift as a gazelle and quick as a rabbit, is remarkably adept at darting in and out of space on the wing.

He has the potential to deliver the spectacular, as evidenced by that searing turn of pace against Liverpool in the '08 Champions League quarterfinals, or that hat trick against Croatia in World Cup qualifying later that year.

But those moments were swallowed up by his maddening tendency to lose the ball or shirk the most straightforward technical tasks. He takes to running at opponents like breathing, but once the space closes down, he becomes a fish out of water.

Many a pundit has offered his take on Walcott's stagnation as a prospect—let's not forget he's only 22—with some even questioning his football IQ, as Alan Hansen famously did in 2010 in an article for The Telegraph.

Hansen's dour assessment of Walcott's crossing ability in that piece rang true during Sunday's match against Stoke City, when the right winger's delivery in the final third was the subject of much malign from the Sky Sports color commentator presiding over the fixture.

To be perfectly honest, Walcott has endured a torrid couple of weeks since the Tottenham derby match, slinking to inglorious performances in the subsequent matches against Bolton and Sunderland.

It doesn't help that this dip in form has coincided with the rise of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the latest talented wing prospect in Wenger's stable (like Walcott, AOC is a former Southampton man).

Just as Walcott's place in the England national set up is now being questioned ahead of Euro 2012, Oxlade-Chamberlain's name is being bandied about as a possible shock inclusion to next summer's side.

ESPN Soccernet has reported that Walcott is eager to enter into talks with Arsenal about an extension, but one must wonder whether he figures into the club's long-term plans.

When he assumed Thierry Henry's old No. 14 before the 2008-09 season, there was an expectation that he would eventually provide the requisite industry and class of a player wearing the number of one of the club's all-time greats.

Walcott has maintained that he would prefer to slide into a central striking role, akin to the one once occupied by Henry, but that has yet to happen. And with Robin van Persie in such scintillating form, there is no reason the Dutchman will lose his place as center forward in Wenger's 4-3-3 formation.

Might Walcott become a more prized asset if were to switch to a striking role? Would he prove born for the role, like Henry proved in making his own switch from the wing to a forward position years ago?

Perhaps, but it's difficult to predict just how successful Walcott would be as a central striker.

He's never proved a propensity toward maneuvering tight situations in the final third, and his passing ability has long been listed as a weak point. Far from top marks for a player needed to link play in the Arsenal attack.

Walcott has long been at his best on the counterattack, or when given space to run at or behind a defense. He has never looked comfortable when forced to play neat, intricate combinations. Yet that's a vital aspect of the Arsenal footballing ethos.

He has never transformed into the fluid, technically-endowed player so often seen in recent Arsenal outfits, but that's not a discredit. One would never list Gervinho, once labeled in a French newspaper as le dribbleur fou (the crazy dribbler) a typical Arsenal player, either.

But the Ivorian winger, signed in the summer for £10.7 million, has been excellent over the past week, combining brilliantly with Van Persie against Sunderland (one assist to the Dutchman) and Stoke (one goal, two assists—both to Van Persie).

With the former Lille winger looking ever more likely to cement his status in Wenger's first-choice starting XI, is there a future for Walcott on the other wing of the 4-3-3?

One of his direct competitors, Andrei Arshavin, also has a contract that runs out in 2013. Will Wenger choose to re-sign either, or will he opt once more for youth, allowing Ryo Miyaichi and Oxlade-Chamberlain to rise to the fore?

The latter two starlets are far too green to be counted upon regularly at this point, but by 2013-14, they could make a case for consistent playing time.

Despite the uncertainty over his future, one thing is definitely certain: Walcott cannot continue along his current vein of form, lest he lose his starting spot, much like Arshavin did a year ago after a prolonged spell of poor play.