Wenger hoping to see Walcott rise to form this season!
It comes as no surprise to anyone to know that Theo Walcott was far from his best last season. The Englishman was wasteful in front of goal, off the ball and couldn’t even seem to utilise his pace as a means of effort. His performances led to much criticism and given the wage he is currently on at Arsenal, of course many called for his time at the club to come to an end.
Wenger however seems to see things differently and despite a summer of wondering whether Walcott could potentially be told to leave, it is not surprising to see that he is still a member of the club. Wenger still sees what Walcott has to offer and despite many years of toying whether to play the Englishman on the wing or up front, it seems that Wenger has finally concluded that he believes Walcott does have an eye for goal and fully expects the Englishman to show the fans that side of his game this season.
Wenger said: “I said before the season started that we will get a different Theo Walcott this year. If he can maintain that focus, that desire and that fighting attitude then he will have a great season. I hope he has no setback because he is an intelligent player, he is focused and has a great desire to prove his critics wrong and he’s on a good way.”
On the opening day of Arsenal’s new Premier League campaign, a penalty miss against Liverpool seemed to show that Walcott hadn’t changed all summer and we were going to see the same out of form player this year. However minutes later Walcott found the back of the net with a tidy finish. A week later against Leicester he missed another few opportunities but made the runs netherless and to our amazement, he managed to get into a good position on most occasions. Against Watford he chipped in with an assist as well as bringing a few good saves out of Gomes, showing that perhaps we may just see a more ‘focused’ Theo, as Arsene Wenger has suggested.
What do you think, can Walcott prove his critics wrong this season?
By AH