Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott     22     Winger/Forward     Arsenal

In citing Walcott as ‘Winger/Forward’ in the header, we are perhaps looking at the single biggest puzzle surrounding his career. While the player himself has repeatedly stated a desire to play through the middle, his natural (and biggest) asset of blistering pace seems to push both his club and national manger into favouring a wider position for Theo.

At 22 he already has a wealth of experience but the elephant in the room when discussing Walcott will always be consistency. Knowing he is capable of destroying teams on his own, it’s the regular non-performances and poor decisions that frustrate more than anything. Clearly he’ll be given a lot more responsibility at Arsenal this season following the departures of Cesc and Nasri, and may even get regular chances to play through the middle, but there is a real need to see him put in twenty to thirty good performances, rather than one truly outstanding game followed by several average ones.

“Walcott is quick, but he has found the accusation of him being more an athlete than a footballer difficult to shake. Prone to punctuating decent spells of form with significant malaise, he needs desperately to work and improve on his finishing and consistency if he wants to move into that more influential central role he covets” – Luke Moore (The Football Ramble)

“Will never be the superstar people hoped for when he was 17, but he's quietly become a useful player for Arsenal, stretching the play and crossing well, though on counter-attacks he makes poor decisions” – Michael Cox (Zonal Marking)

C-     You could be one of the outstanding players of your generation. Now believe it and furthermore, prove it.