Theo Walcott has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, and Arsene Wenger has now revealed he could be sold.
The England international has not started in the Premier League since Arsenal lost 3-2 to Manchester United at Old Trafford at the end of February, and has been restricted to under an hour of minuted since then.
The emergence of Alex Iwobi and the return from injury of an in-form Danny Welbeck has played a huge part in that, while Walcott’s own form has not been worthy of first-team action.
Many fans have moved to condemn the English forward, claiming he is a flop and someone who has done nothing in his 10 years with the club, but had he continued his form from early in the season, that wouldn’t have been the case.
The 27 year-old picked up the Arsenal Player of the Month award in September, having been successfully challenging first-choice Olivier Giroud for a central striking role, and the pair seemed to be excelling in their rivalry, until an injury never-the-less ended the run, and the pair have not been the same since.
Arsene Wenger had told us that the best was yet to come from Walcott, angering the clubs fans who are fed up with the disappointments that the forward has brought, but the French boss now appears to have changed his tune.
The manager was asked if he would sell the former Southampton youngster in the coming window, to which he replied: “I don’t know yet. I’m not in transfer mode at the moment but I think he has gone through a bad spell. He has responded very well, because he said ‘okay, I will work harder and more’.
“Even when he comes on now, you see he is motivated and focused. Let’s see how well he finishes the season now.”
There may be hope of some changes to the squad this summer after all, but do you think Wenger will really sell?