As Arsenal failed to finish in the top-four for the first time in over twenty years, there are a lot of factors which are believed to be responsible for the club’s failures this season. Apart from the uncertainty in terms of management and the futures of key players, perhaps the biggest factor in this regard is that a quite a few players have failed to show up this season, and none more so than Theo Walcott!
Playing in his tenth season for the club, the Englishman has once again failed to live up to the vast potential he showed since moving from Southampton as a 16-year-old. Problems with fitness and consistency have plagued the winger throughout his time in North London and I believe that the club should finally cut their losses on a player that has failed to prove himself despite being afforded numerous opportunities to do so.
Apart from his lack of consistency and his inability to stay fit for an extended period of time, I believe the new formation is the last straw when it comes to Theo’s future in an Arsenal shirt. Despite a couple of decent performances, it is now certain that the England international is not capable of leading the line, nor is he capable of playing at wing-back, which is well illustrated by the fact that Nacho Monreal, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi are all ahead of him in the pecking order for the wide positions.
Needless to mention, getting rid of the lacklustre winger will free up upto £110k from the Gunners wage bill, money which can be used to tie down the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to new deals. But with that being said, I really hope the money from any potential sale will be used to bring in new talent who can contribute more significantly for the Arsenal cause. The Gunners could really use some reinforcements, especially in the form of a striker and a centre-back.
AT