With the Arsenal and England forward Theo Walcott having been below par for a good few games I was not surprised to see Arsene Wenger leave him out of the Arsenal starting line up for the must win Premier League game away to Bournemouth on Sunday.
But judging from the way the season has panned out so far I would have thought that it would be Joel Campbell that was the player to come in for Walcott. Instead it was Theo’s team mate for club and country Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Ox had looked good in the FA cup win over Burnley, but it was Campbell that the Frenchman had turned to as we sought a goal against Southampton.
He also left the Ox on the bench and brought Coquelin on towards the end of that goalless draw, a move that some people think suggests that Wenger does not trust Chamberlain. But he did start him in Bournemouth and Arsenal got the reward of a great goal from the 22-year old.
I wonder if Wenger’s decision had anything to do with the report in The Sun which claims the England international is worried about his place in Roy Hodgson’s plans for Euro 2016 and is considering his future with Arsenal.
As he approaches his 100th club appearance, the Ox has only completed a whole match 10 times and so you can understand his frustration. However, with Walcott out of form, could Wenger be set to give the Ox a run a of games to give him a chance to remind us how good he can be and to save his Arsenal career before he makes any decision in the summer?