Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been speaking about a number of players recently, but with contract talks currently ongoing and Theo Walcott in the hunt for first team football, speculation about the 26 year-old is at its tipping point and a number of candidates are reportedly keen.
Theo Walcott believes he is most effective as a striker, but Wenger has deployed the former Southampton man as a winger for most of his nine-year period at the club and this has meant that goals have not come as naturally as most would have hoped.
In 2012, contract talks were again the hot topic with Theo and despite a big pay rise once he did sign an extension, Walcott famously insisted at the time that stalling on contract talks was due to ‘trust as a striker, not money’.
“I am not affected by money,” Walcott said. “It is a case of having trust in me up front. I was signed as a striker and it is about time, I want to play up front. I have learnt my game on the wing. When you look at what I did last year I think I can do even more. Hopefully I will be given the opportunity. I am desperate for it.”
Arsene Wenger deployed a rather bold approach at the time, deploying Walcott as a striker in the hope it would persuade him to sign a contract and low and behold he put pen to paper, but soon after he did, goals began to dry up, injuries became a concern and once he returned was deployed on the wing.
In the 2012/13 season, with Walcott playing mainly through the middle of the pitch he scored 21 goals in 43 appearances, his best ever return, but the following season only managed six goals in 18 appearances.
Since his best goalscoring season, goals have dried up, causing Wenger to lose a sense of trust in Theo, but the boss is understanding of injuries as it is a sensitive subject that can cause a player’s best to be shown as their worst and has stuck by him, ensuring that he felt backed by the club when confronted by the media.
Whether Walcott will be happy to play a lesser role over the next few years will come into question.
Wenger certainly doesn’t want to miss out on what he described as ‘the golden age’ for a striker.
“I bought him at Southampton when he was 17 because I believe in his qualities as a good finisher and the timing of his runs are very intelligent,” the boss claimed.
“He’s at the best age now. Being 26 to 32 as a striker is the best age as a striker and I wouldn’t like to miss that golden age.
“I think his position will be striker. I work with him in both situations, as a striker and as a wide player. But the quality of the runs is so fantastic with the pace he has. When he was younger he was rushing his finishing but he is a good finisher now.
“He can be transformed. He is naturally gifted to play in this position but he has different qualities. Olivier Giroud has a physical presence, back to goal, can head the ball. Theo is more a guy who is a runner, who goes behind.
“He loves the club and I think he wants to stay. [Out] of the whole squad he is the player who has played the most games for us. Nobody has played more for us than Theo. I think he has played 202 games and that means he is part of us.”
Arsenal face Swansea at the Emirates Stadium this evening and it is likely that Walcott will start on the right hand side of a midfield three, replacing Aaron Ramsey who is 50-50 for the game and you can read our preview here.
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