We will have to wait and see just where the England international Theo Walcott plays most of his football for Arsenal this season, but the flying 26-year old forward has already made a good case for being able to play in the centre forward role as well as on either side of a front three.
Having just signed a bumper new contract that has put him among the club´s top earners, there is a lot of expectation from the Arsenal fans for Theo to push on and prove himself able to fire us to the success we want, including of course the Premier League title. As the boss told Arsenal Player, the time is now perfect for Walcott to silence his critics once and for all after his long injury lay-off.
Wenger said, “I think he’s at a moment of his career where he knows that it’s now time for him to completely fulfil his potential.”
His team mate Aaron Ramsey, not a bad goalscorer himself, knows what it is like to be sidelined with a serious injury. The Welshman has been at Arsenal with Walcott for many years now and he seems very confident that this season will be a brilliant one for the striker.
He told Arsenal Player, “He did very well at the end of last year. He’s had a good pre-season.
“He looks sharp, he looks strong and he can be dangerous.
“He is a goalscorer – he has a load of goals for Arsenal and I think he can carry that on and maybe get into the 100 Club this year.
“He’s a very strong character. He believes in his abilities and he definitely has a lot of qualities to offer.
“He can finish – one of the hardest things to do in football is to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s done it on numerous occasions for Arsenal. Hopefully he can continue doing that.”
So it is clear that the Arsenal players and manager have full confidence in Walcott, proven by his new contract, but the most important point of view is his own. And listening to his words about the club and his desire to do well for us tells me all I need to know about his attitude at the minute.
The England star told the Arsenal website, “It’s nice to get things resolved before the start of the season. I’ve always enjoyed playing for this club, I love this club. I’ve been here nearly 10 years now and it’s my second home.
“The manager has been fantastic to me. The players, the coaching staff, everyone at the club itself, the people that you don’t see on the inside and, most importantly, the fans have all been amazing.
“The Emirates is a great stadium to play your football in and this team is very special. I think we can go places this year and move on from the success of the FA Cup. I want to be a part of that.”
So everything is in place for Walcott to get some real glory on a personal level and for the club it seems. Will he get the 24 goals to make it 100 up for the Gunners? And will he be celebrating a first title with Rambo and the prof come May?