In defence of Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott is a controversial figure. It would be fair to say that he has few admirers in the Emirates, and even fewer outside of it. But as he begins to reach an age where people will be genuinely expectant of a change in form has Walcott done anything to prove people wrong?
Signed from Southampton in 2006 great things were expected of the lightening quick forward and for many he has failed to live up to the, perhaps unreasonably high, expectations. However, if we try to ignore the negative press that surrounds him, can we see just how far he has come from the unproven seventeen year old who was taken to the World Cup?
Vast improvements since he signed for Arsenal
The Arsenal forward has come a long way since his first goal for Arsenal, a precise finish in the 2007 League Cup final. And, despite what many think, Walcott has made clear improvements since his highly scrutinised arrival at the club. Even though he has not been guaranteed a starting place in the Arsenal fist team and has had a series of serious injuries, just when he appeared to be gaining form, he has come back from all of his set backs stronger and last season his tally of thirteen goals and eight assists in only twenty five starts is something to be praised.
Big game player
Many will disagree with this but hear me out before you criticise. Walcott has a surprising knack of turning up when it really counts. For example his first goal came in the League Cup final in 2007. He has also performed well extremely well in Arsenal’s recent meetings with Barcelona.
In the first leg in 2010 Walcott came on, scored a goal and then provided the cross which lead to Arsenal’s penalty and second goal leading Guardiola to praise Walcott’s “quality” and “pace” (BBC). In the second leg he then provided the assist for Bendtner’s goal. In the first leg in 2011 he also played exceptionally and was a constant threat to the opposition.
When Arsenal hosted Chelsea last season Walcott scored and provided an assist to leave the Gunners 3-1 winners. In last season’s north London derby Walcott opened the scoring at White Hart Lane with an excellent one-on-one finish and he also provided the cross that Van Persie scored from to make it 3-1.
Even though this season has only just begun Walcott has already been proving his pedigree in important matches. As Arsenal prepared for their Champions League qualifier many fans and pundits were dismissing Arsenal’s chances, saying that they would crumble without their departed stars. It was a moment where other squad players would have to step up to the plate. So who was it that scored in both legs to put Arsenal through to the group stages? That’s right, Theo Walcott.
It is not just his goal scoring that has improved either. Walcott’s passing has improved dramatically in big games. Take for example his perfectly timed assist for Van Persie’s opener on a difficult night against the German champions Dortmund.
Moreover, you have to consider the fact that, unlike many top players, Walcott has proven that he can be effective at any level whether it is in the Premier League, the Champions League or at International level as he did with his hat trick against Croatia. Many will ask what he has done since that night in Zagreb for the national team but there is evidence that his performances are getting better with every game as he begins to gel with his international team mates. We only need to look at the last Montenegro game for proof of this as he got the assist for the first goal.
Playing out of position
It seems an obvious point to make but, ultimately, Theo is not a winger. He spent his pre-Arsenal life as a centre forward and, although Wenger has not used him as such so far, Arsenal fans will hope to see him there in the future.
If you think about Walcott’s best qualities: his pace, his one-on-one finishing and his movement then those are all ideal qualities for a striker. The problem he has is that he would play much better as one of a striking pair in a 4-4-2. That way his relatively small size would not matter as it would in a 4-3-3. However neither England nor Arsenal is willing to adopt this formation and subsequently Walcott is not being used to his potential.
Finally
I’m not denying that Walcott has faults. Of course he does: he is horrendously inconsistent, his choice of short passes can often be baffling and he is incapable of playing with flair. But, we must remember that despite the fact that it seems as though Walcott has been around forever, he is still only twenty-two. All footballers develop at different times. Michael Owen started strong as a teenager before his career tailed off. Thierry Henry on the other hand didn’t reach any kind of recognisable form until he was twenty-three; incidentally this change of form that was inspired by a move from the wing to a striking position.
I’m not saying that Walcott would make it in to a lot of top teams around the world, or that he will ever be the best player in the world. What I would say though is that he is still only young and should not be so heavily criticised at such an early stage. Confidence is his major problem and he will never develop into the player he could be for Arsenal and England if he does not get the support he needs.
I’d like to leave it with words from the world’s best player Lionel Messi: “I can only speak from experience but he was one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against.” (Telegraph, 14/02/11)
If you disagree with this or just fancy chatting about football follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay and I’ll be happy to debate the issue further.
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best article i’v read in a long time. Spot on!!! You know, we should look at the facts and the stats before you call him failure. Best we support our players wen they need us the most. Dont join the anti-arsenal brigade who want 2 c us die by puting down our players. Go TW14 go Arsenal!!! It’s our time!! UP THE GUNS
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Hamish,
sorry to say it but this is the biggest load of utter drivel i have read since Tony Blairs autobiography.. I admire your attempt to defend a young-ish player and to discourage criticism but do you actually attend our home games?? Walflop has started to believe his own hype…now visibly blaming team-mates when he doesnt get the pass he wants or isn’t played where he wants it to be played…he is NOT a big game player (having been to and watched all of the so called big games he’s been involved with over the last few seasons – inc home to Barca when he supposedly had one of his best games…errr no. The pass to ‘create’ the goal was so bad it almost went backwards and his so called electrifying pace against slower defenders does not appear to cause anything like the number of chances or opportunities for team mates he SHOULD be creating. He is making the same mistakes he made when he came to arsenal (despite your attempt to explain the so called vast improvements…where??) He mis-places passes regularly, poor first touch, blind alley runs, dire crossing ability and his lack of defensive cover when needed is the last straw for me. When a player is having an off game (which he has more than most) the very least they should be doing is tracking back, working and putting in a shift…instead of trotting about the pitch like a show pony and hiding away from getting stuck in and helping his team mates. The problem with Walnut is simple..and endemic amongst most of our current squad these days…. he simply isn’t good enough.
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jerome e Reply:
October 19th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
you’re correct. and i’m enjoying the nicknames. you’re very observant and i too have noticed his inabilities. except, I do still believe he has potential. he’s gonna realise one day he’s not as good as what everyone hoped he’d be, and when that day comes, we’ll see the best from him. good post from you though, because what you say here are facts. but i do disagree with that one comment. he is good enough & he will improve
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Hamish Mackay Reply:
October 19th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
Firstly, I am a season ticket holder and do attend all of our home games. Secondly his goals and assists in the big games do not lie. people are expecting things of him that he is simply not there to provide. Everyone at the Emirates gets so frustrated with him for his often sloppy link up play but one of the points I have made quite clearly is that he is not a winger. Nearly all of the criticism you have levelled at him here are the duties of a midfielder and not the striker that he should be. Frankly he has no business being a winger and should not be used as such.
As for the improvement that you fail to see: if you do not count being in some way involved (either scoring or assisting) in 23 goals in 25 starts as an improvement on the seasons previously than you are indeed hard to please.
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I agree with your views. Perhaps Sven Goran Erikson did him a disservice when he included him in the England World Cup team. With such a sensational start, it was inevitable that expectations became sky high putting unnecessary pressure on Theo. But at Arsenal, he has actually grown stronger and stronger season from season, can influence a game and is now less easily brushed off by opposing defenders. Learning from the Theo Walcott experience, it is perhaps understandable why Arsene Wenger has jealously guarded the involvement of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in the first team to the frustration of fans who would love to see more of Alex in the first team.
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Berkamp…he is 22 years old you know. He’s not Messi but he damn well has shown improvement, maybe, not in the way that you would expect a CF playing as a winger, but he’s improved and you’d be able to see that if you’d get your ungrateful, anti-all-things-arsenal, myopic attitude right. I bet you, you’re one of those fans who are about as useful as chocolate teapots, who sit there on row 19 on the North Bank and criticise everything the team does for the entire 90 minutes…and after the game you go around criticising the way the ground staff have drawn the lines on the pitch. Arsenal would be such a better club if they didn’t have fans like you who always whine and whinge about everything Arsenal. I wish we had a transfer window for fans and we’d get rid of all the chuff who don’t know how to do their job (i.e. cheering the team on) and get proper fans!
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A nice read, certainly makes a change from the “normal” Theo articles you read on the net lol. Of course I blame Chris waddle for all of this…”haven’t got a football brain” one of the most misused and misinterpreted phrases in football history.
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deceiving article, u must be a english that’s why u r defending that brainless walcott.
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Walcott has one ability, pace and I don’t think he has the intelligence how to utilise it. Just because he has a good game against Burnley dosn’t make him world class.
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Hamish,
Firstly you make a very good defence of Walcott and you do have a good point. He does put in some great performances such as against Barcelona last season. But he is far too inconsistent and incapable of making the correct decision when its necessary. When he was signed by Arsenal he was a fantastic young player with bags of raw talent and he just needed nudging in the right direction to be a world class player.
But he has never moved on and although he has more experience he still lacks the crossing and decision making skills that needed improving when he joined the club.
He was thrown in at the deep end with high expectations and it hasn’t worked. He began to believe what was said in the press rather than concentrating on improving.
His hat-trick in World Cup qualifying against Croatia had everybody praising him but one good game every so often doesn’t make you a great player, consistency does.
He would be better as a striker rather than a winger but I think he is destined to be another player who never lived up to the potential he had.
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Hamish Mackay Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 10:52 am
I said in the article that I understand that he is inconsistent, however this is not a physical flaw and with the right mentality gained through experience, remember he is only 22, he can get rid of this trait and develop into a top player. His crossing has improved vastly but as I said the other day you wouldn’t know because nobody at Arsenal likes getting on the end of crosses. I just think it’s ridiculous that within football there is such a lack of patience for anything. Theo is only 22! He wont even reach his peak for another 5 years and so many people have already written him off.
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Couldn’t agree more. Not only is Walcott still young, he has much more ability than anyone gives him credit for and his stats show that. Compare his stats to Gareth Bale, Nani, Young etc and Walcott suddenly looks a much, much better. Another reason he isn’t playing too well at the moment is that he is starved of the service of Fabregas and Wilshere. His movement is still there, its just that there is no one with the quality to find him.
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i bet those who say he is not a big game player are not saying so now.Look how he made the supposed best lb in the world look useless today.Support your team and the players they are what we have and would love to see them all develop to world class but the so called fans who just criticise for the sake of it as far as im concerned are fair weather so move on to citeh they have the mercenaries now and come back when they fall flat again.class is permanent form is only temporary and we know who the class teams are.
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