Has Theo Walcott got the ability to become an Arsenal legend?

According to Sky Sports reports this morning Arsenal winger Theo Walcott wants to stay at the Emirates and become a legend.

He has also revealed that it isn’t money that has stopped him signing a new contract with the North London club.

Reasons

Walcott has told Sky Sports his reasons. The England winger said: “For me, it has never been about money. It has always been a football decision for me. If I had opportunities in the summer to go but if I wanted to go, I would have gone, if it was about money. It has never been that.

“The main factors for me now are I want to start playing up front. That is all it is, really. It is not going to happen overnight. My last contract took over six months to do.

“We have only started to come to terms with it. The club have been quite busy with the likes of Robin (van Persie) and Alex Song, and players coming in. I am just there now. Hopefully it can be sorted, because I want to stay, I want to play for Arsenal, I want to try and win things.

“I remember when Thierry Henry joined at 22 and the legend he was. Hopefully I can be the legend he was as well in that upfront position.”

Ability

There is no denying that Theo Walcott has ability, but in the last few years his career has badly stalled. The main annoyance of his game was that his crossing was poor and he didn’t lift his head up enough.

Unfortunately, in the last few years neither has improved to the extent were you could say that Theo Walcott is now a far better player than he was say two years ago.

Lightning

Walcott’s main strength is his blistering pace. He must be one of the fastest players in the Premier League. His acceleration is just frightening. However having pace is not a pre-requisite to being a good player.

Walcott sometimes wastes his pace by beating a defender and then producing a poor cross or giving the ball away. It seems he doesn’t currently have the football intelligence to use his assets to the best of his abilities.

Striker

For most of his career at Arsenal he has played on the wing, but when he arrived he was a striker. He wants to play up front and that seems to be his main reason for stalling on a contract.

I suggest that had he performed better on the wing then he wouldn’t have to worry about his contractual situation and Arsene Wenger may trust him to play up front. Instead his form has been woefully inconsistent.

He says he wants to be a club legend at the Emirates. If his performances don’t pick up he won’t be at the Emirates for much longer with contract expiring next summer. I think Arsene Wenger may be tempted to offload him in the January transfer window, if he hasn’t signed a new deal of course.

He probably would make a better striker than a winger. He has good composure in front of goal, which some of the Gunners front men don’t, were talking about Gervinho here.

However, Arsenal are currently playing with one striker and Theo Walcott hasn’t really got the attributes to be a lone striker. The Gunners need somebody that can hold the ball up and bring others into play, not Theo’s strong point I’m afraid.

Struggling

Arsenal has made a very decent start to the season and Walcott hasn’t really played a major part in their season so far. He has made cameos appearances, but hasn’t played a key role. Walcott’s place on the wing seems to have been taken by England starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Legend

To even mention himself in the same breath as Thierry Henry is ridiculous. Henry is a real Arsenal legend and I don’t think Walcott will get anywhere near Henry in the scoring or hero stakes with the Gunners.

Theo Walcott may very well sign a new contract at the Emirates and become a very good player. Unfortunately for the 23 year-old he has a lot of work ahead of him to improve his game if he is ever going to get even close to the Frenchman’s legacy.

Can Theo Walcott become a legend at Arsenal?