Arsenal: Theo Walcott Success Completely Down To One Thing
Arsenal are enjoying some fine form from Theo Walcott – at long lost – but we have to remember that there is only one reason he has had this chance.
I, among a majority of other Arsenal supporters, had counted Theo Walcott out. The rumors of him being sold these past two summers sounded tantalizing. £30m for another English flop? Absolutely – where can we sign?
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Naturally, it wasn’t up to us and Walcott remains.
Credit to Theo, he is looking completely changed. I mentioned it not long ago and Wenger has mentioned it now too.
“He used to be 90 percent forward and 10 percent defending. Today he’s 50-50. He does the job both ways and he does it with commitment,” Le Prof said, as quoted by ESPNFC.
It’s that simple in the change that we see. Walcott’s skill set going forward often left him suffocated by solid defenses. So he had two options: Either move to a position with more space or do more work tracking back.
The Englishman did both. As Wenger pointed out, his success isn’t totally invested in going forward anymore. A lost ball isn’t a lost opportunity. Like Alexis, he now tracks back all the way to the full back, where he chips in on the defense and produces play-stopping tackles.
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Walcott has re-assumed that special player mantra that he had not all that long ago, only in an even bigger capacity. At 27 years old, he really does look to be hitting his prime in stride.
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So what do we have to thank for Walcott’s turnaround? You could say his change in mentality. You could say his upturn in confidence. But all of that is moot if it weren’t for who we have to thank – Arsene Wenger.
No other manager would have stuck with Walcott for that long. He would have been sold off to another club where this form would have come back to haunt Arsenal. But Wenger stuck with him, knowing full well what he was capable of, and gave him more opportunities than he deserved, you could say.
But here we are, with it all paying off. Walcott is a crucial piece of this offense. He is better than the Ox, better, dare I say it, than Joel Campbell and it finally feels like he isn’t a creative void when he gets the ball. He can do more than run in a straight line after all.
Arsene knows best may not be the most popular thing to say, given the Twitter divide, but I think that, as it stands with Theo Walcott, we can agree that Arsene did know best.
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