By Abhinav.
The following piece has nothing to do with Theo’s quality or that the act of being put on the bench as a punishment for not agreeing to a contract extension is right. In fact, it’s praising Arsene Wenger for keeping Walcott on the bench in Arsenal’s last two games – something which will get the best out of him.
Making the transition from a squad player into an impact sub into a first teamer – most notably, since the 2010-2011 season began – Theo has come a long way ever since signing for Arsenal in 2006 as a 16 year old.
He came with a lot of
expectations due to his price tag along with
the media hype and Sven Goran Eriksson calling
him up
to the England squad for the 2006 World Cup didn’t exactly help his
development as a teenager:
“My
opportunity to do my growing up as a footballer
out of the spotlight had disappeared for ever. I couldn’t now learn
on the undercard of a bill, like a young fighter making his way through
the ranks. I was still a raw novice but I had to accept that I was also
one of the headline acts. It didn’t matter whether I liked it or not.
I just had to get on with it.”
Known for his blistering pace and yet, terrible final ball and inconsistency, Theo has shown more of his ‘football brain’ in recent seasons on the wings despite claiming he is best utilized in the center forward role. The England international was the most productive English winger last season while also directly contributing to 46 goals in the last two seasons prior to the 2012/2013 season.
However, he can be complacent and invisible at times – mainly due to the fact that he knew he wasn’t going to be dropped for a declined Andrei Arshavin. But with the rise of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, an adapted Gervinho along with the signing of forward, Lukas Podolski – equally adept at playing on the left – Walcott has a fight on his hands to even get on the bench.
Having reportedly rejected a new contract extension at Arsenal worth around £75,000 per week, asking for £100,000 per week in the process, Arsene Wenger has opted to keep Theo despite his contract running out this summer. £100,000 is a large salary, especially for an inconsistent 24 year old, considering the fact that players like Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla earn less.
Ever since those
contract talks reportedly ended, Theo has been kept
on the bench for the away games vs Stoke City and Liverpool, not
featuring
in the latter 2-0 win. He isn’t expected to start the game against
Southampton either – and this is perfectly fine.
Being on the bench frustrates players – it certainly frustrated Walcott when he was on the bench for the game against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2010 as he wrote in his book. Benched players deliver their utmost best as they have to make an impression to their managers, working twice as hard.
Walcott is deadlier as an impact substitute anyway as whom better to bring on in the 60th minute against tiring defenders than a speed merchant like Walcott? Barcelona wouldn’t be able to answer that for you.
It is debateable but Walcott’s best performances have come on the global stage, notably, as a substitute. Three games come to mind; his cameo against Liverpool in the 2008 quarterfinals of the Champions League where he made a sensational run from inside his own half into the Liverpool box before finally assisting Emmanuel Adebayor.
Another was his substitute appearance against Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League quarterfinals when Arsenal were trailing 2-0 at the Emirates, only for Walcott to come on and change the game with his pace, ultimately scoring a goal as Arsenal eventually pegged Barcelona back 2-2.
And lastly, a more
recent example – England’s EURO 2012 group
stage game with Sweden, where the three lions were losing 2-1, only
for Walcott to come on and score an equalizer while terrorizing the
Swedish defense with his pace, and assisting Danny Welbeck for the
eventual
winner.
Defenders can prepare knowing Walcott will start as he’s not the best at utilizing his pace to get past players and can be contained more or less very easily, however, coming off the bench, he would be a deadly asset as tiring defenders wouldn’t be able to cope with him nor would they bomb forward knowing there’s a legitimate counter attacking threat.
Walcott may not be the best technical player but he is certainly a game changer – an enigma as seen by the 5-2 win over Tottenham in late February 2012. After being wanted off by Arsenal fans by halftime, the former Southampton man scored twice in the second half compounding Spurs’ misery.
Arsene Wenger would want to keep Walcott following the end of this season and the Englishman would be even more deadly coming off the bench for more reasons than one.
The following piece has nothing to do with Theo’s quality or that the act of being put on the bench as a punishment for not agreeing to a contract extension is right. In fact, it’s praising Arsene Wenger for keeping Walcott on the bench in Arsenal’s last two games – something which will get the best out of him.
Making the transition from a squad player into an impact sub into a first teamer – most notably, since the 2010-2011 season began – Theo has come a long way ever since signing for Arsenal in 2006 as a 16 year old.
 |
| Young Walcott At Southampton |
 |
| Walcott In The 2006 World Cip |
Known for his blistering pace and yet, terrible final ball and inconsistency, Theo has shown more of his ‘football brain’ in recent seasons on the wings despite claiming he is best utilized in the center forward role. The England international was the most productive English winger last season while also directly contributing to 46 goals in the last two seasons prior to the 2012/2013 season.
However, he can be complacent and invisible at times – mainly due to the fact that he knew he wasn’t going to be dropped for a declined Andrei Arshavin. But with the rise of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, an adapted Gervinho along with the signing of forward, Lukas Podolski – equally adept at playing on the left – Walcott has a fight on his hands to even get on the bench.
Having reportedly rejected a new contract extension at Arsenal worth around £75,000 per week, asking for £100,000 per week in the process, Arsene Wenger has opted to keep Theo despite his contract running out this summer. £100,000 is a large salary, especially for an inconsistent 24 year old, considering the fact that players like Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla earn less.
 |
Being on the bench frustrates players – it certainly frustrated Walcott when he was on the bench for the game against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2010 as he wrote in his book. Benched players deliver their utmost best as they have to make an impression to their managers, working twice as hard.
Walcott is deadlier as an impact substitute anyway as whom better to bring on in the 60th minute against tiring defenders than a speed merchant like Walcott? Barcelona wouldn’t be able to answer that for you.
It is debateable but Walcott’s best performances have come on the global stage, notably, as a substitute. Three games come to mind; his cameo against Liverpool in the 2008 quarterfinals of the Champions League where he made a sensational run from inside his own half into the Liverpool box before finally assisting Emmanuel Adebayor.
Another was his substitute appearance against Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League quarterfinals when Arsenal were trailing 2-0 at the Emirates, only for Walcott to come on and change the game with his pace, ultimately scoring a goal as Arsenal eventually pegged Barcelona back 2-2.
 |
| "I can only speak from experience but he [Theo Walcott] was one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against." - Lionel Messi. |
Defenders can prepare knowing Walcott will start as he’s not the best at utilizing his pace to get past players and can be contained more or less very easily, however, coming off the bench, he would be a deadly asset as tiring defenders wouldn’t be able to cope with him nor would they bomb forward knowing there’s a legitimate counter attacking threat.
Walcott may not be the best technical player but he is certainly a game changer – an enigma as seen by the 5-2 win over Tottenham in late February 2012. After being wanted off by Arsenal fans by halftime, the former Southampton man scored twice in the second half compounding Spurs’ misery.
Arsene Wenger would want to keep Walcott following the end of this season and the Englishman would be even more deadly coming off the bench for more reasons than one.
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