Month: August 2017

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We need our speed merchant

Posted on by pires7

Obviously the first thing that pops to mind when you think of Theo Walcott is frustration. It is almost laughable if we try to describe a 28 year old striker as having potential. If he has not realized that potential by now surely he never will, right?

That is not entirely true because there have been late bloomers that became quite efficient later on in their careers. The best example is Antonio Di Natale. I remember having a conversation with a friend, who is a fan of Juventus and the Italian National team, after a particularly disastrous world cup for Italy where one of the only bright spots was Di Natale who came off the bench. My friend was very dismissive of Di Natale as a completely average player past his prime who was never good enough for a team like Juventus. By the end of the following season and the next, he was left scratching his head because Di Natale just could not stop scoring.

di natale
Late Bloomer!

Theo Walcott is 28 years so technically he is actually meant to be in his prime. He has certainly caught the eye in the past with his performances. Who can ever forget the slalom run against Liverpool leaving Adebayor with the easiest of tap ins or the lightning counter attack that he launched for Arshavin’s fourth against the same opponents?

Unfortunately for Walcott, his lack of consistency is what has cost him his starting berth with AOC preferred to him on the right wing despite being another inconsistent player. With the players that have being linked to Arsenal including Julian Draxler and Thomas Lemar, one would be forgiven for thinking Walcott has no future at the Emirates but I beg to differ.

lemar
Nothing to fear

If any of the players Arsenal have been linked to end up coming to the Emirates, it will be as a replacement for Alexis Sanchez with both players more left sided midfielders although they can play on the right as well. Theo Walcott’s most ineffective performances have come on the left so his competition on the right remains AOC and Hector Bellerin. If he can start performing as well as we know he can, he will be able to reclaim the right wing and push on from there.

walcott 2
Who can forget this run?

Arsenal need a strong start to their Premier League quest and Walcott might just be the spark we need. Maybe at the end of the season we will all be singing sign da ting!

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