Some Arsenal fans may not really care too much one way or the other about the reasons behind the high quality performances and impressive scoring form that we have seen from the England international star Theo Walcott recently, as long as the 27-year old keeps playing well and putting the ball in the back of the net.
For those of us into such things, though, the debate about what has brought about this upsurge in impact and influence from the speedy Gunner is an interesting one and has already been much discussed in the football press. We have heard from Arsene Wenger who puts it down to a change in attitude, while Theo himself has given credit to his manager and a talk they had over the summer.
Another theory doing the rounds of the media is that his snub by Roy Hodgson for the Euro 2016 England squad has sharpened Walcott’s focus and spurred him on to greater efforts but perhaps it is more simple than that. According to a Sky Sports report the upturn in the forward’s fortunes could simply be down to the fact that he now has Alexis Sanchez in the centre forward position to work with.
The report points to the fact that the Chilean provided the assist for both of Walcott’s goals against Basel in the Champions League, but more generally the fluency that Sanchez adds to our attack and the way his movement compared to the more static Giroud gives more space for the other forwards and helps to drag defenders out of position.
Of course it is down to Theo himself how he uses this and I am not trying to take anything away from his form but is the use of Alexis in the middle the reason the flying Englishman is looking so much better?
Bob.