Ask Blackpool’s Stephen Crainey who the best player he’s come up against is and the words ‘Theo Walcott’ will leave his lips with a speed reminiscent of the player he spent the Saturday afternoon chasing. In fact, if go to the Emirates now, you may still see him puffing his cheeks in a blind pursuit. But who can blame him? Walcott was irresistible against Blackpool, and it was a ruthless wake-up call for the seasiders on their day out.
For Walcott, there is many a point to prove. In his interview on Match of the Day, he was honest and brutal with himself; aware of the criticism he has faced and eager to show what he is capable of. After his omission from Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad (maybe not the worst thing in the world in hindsight), he seems refreshed and raring to go for the season ahead. Pundit-in-chief, Alan Hansen remains unconvinced: impressed with what Walcott showed, he is still unsure about his decision-making and lack of a ‘footballing brain’. Considering what Walcott displayed, I found it difficult to hear criticism, yet I can also appreciate what Hansen is getting at. The other thing he mentioned was if Walcott is capable of a similar performance when he comes up against an Evra or an Ashley Cole, and it is right that there should be a degree of perspective. Battering Blackpool can only tell us so much.
A performance like the one Walcott produced can be a double-edged sword: he has shown how destructive he can be, but now people – and Arsenal fans in particular who have waited a while – will want to see this on a regular basis. Until they go to Stamford Bridge on the 3rd of October, Arsenal’s fixtures are made up of Blackburn, Bolton, Sunderland and West Brom, and although they should present tougher tests for both Walcott and Arsenal, full points should be on the agenda. Walcott now has an opportunity to get games, and good ones at that.
Despite an array of creative, attacking forces at the finger-tips of Wenger, Walcott looks as though he could have the right-sided berth for the foreseeable future. With a fit Van Persie, Wenger may need to re-jig his frontline in terms of personnel or system, but any system would happily accommodate an in-form Walcott. Now 21, the years of potential have to be converted into talent; only for so long will the patience he has received remain.
Nothing is unachievable for Walcott. His position for both club and country is attainable, and both Wenger and Capello will consistently select him if his performances warrant it. There was a time when he was Capello’s first choice for the right wing, and now Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson and James Milner can all vie for that same role. They are all still relatively young and all capable of making the role their own, but none have made themselves indispensible to the cause and unable to drop.
From Walcott’s relative eloquence and intelligence in the interviews and profiles he gives, he seems grounded enough to determine that his career goes in the right direction. He is not a hot head, his off-field publicity is at a premium and he has two of the best managers in the world to guide his growth. Add this to the talent he has, and all seems to be in place to belatedly launch his career, but it is now down to the man himself. All those things have existed for a number of years and yet his engine has stuttered. He now has a platform set in place, is control of his own destiny and if everything can click into gear, will be a joy to witness, week in, week out.
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