Theo Walcott Will Remain A Winger, For Now

Arsene Wenger has revealed his plan to convert Gunners winger Theo Walcott to a forward, but not so fast said the Frenchman.

“I have as well other players who can play in this role – [Marouane] Chamakh, Park [Chu-Young], [Robin] van Persie, Gervinho,” Wenger told Arsenal.com.

“Walcott at the moment is for me suited to play on the flank. But he will later certainly move inside.

“When you look at Theo, he’s a player who you think sometimes ‘he could have contributed more then’, but then you think ‘who scored the goal?’ Him. Or ‘who made the pass?’ It’s him. He’s a player who is efficient.

“I think he can make a decisive impact in every single game. Even in that game, you can say ‘OK he had not a great game’, maybe, but he was efficient. And that’s the problem.”

Has Walcott lived up to his potential since arriving from Southampton for £9.1 million?

Many football experts would argue no, but I’m going to play the devil’s advocate yet again.

Since arriving at the Emirates, Walcott has bagged 34 goals and 27 assists in all competitions (184 games). His goal-scoring ratio has been far from impressive, but there is a valid explanation for that.

A simple explanation would be that Wenger has not given the England international enough consecutive starts to hit top form. If not that, you can look at the fact that he [Walcott] has been deployed as a winger. Last time I checked most wingers do not tally a tremendous number of goals, just saying.

However, keep in mind that Walcott’s best season as a professional came in 2010-11, when he tallied career highs with 13 goals and eight assists in 38 appearances.

Here is what Arsene Wenger has to say about Walcott’s progress since arriving at the Emirates Stadium in 2006:

“Yes, I think he has made progress as a team player,” said Wenger.

“He works very hard, Theo, because he’s naturally a guy who thinks ahead. And he works harder for the team. He is making progress, I think, this season.

“You feel there is a real desire from him to play with the others, and that was perhaps his weak point before. I think at the moment he’s working very hard on that.

“I saw the England game [against Montenegro] and I thought he has worked hard for the team, but the whole team suffered.

“I’ve not seen the first 20 minutes but from 20 to 90, he was not the only one who suffered in this game, because Montenegro dominated the game.”

I’ll conclude today’s editorial by asking a hot topic question that will surely create some debate.

Which former Southampton starlet will have a better career with the Gunners, Theo Walcott or Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain?