As the remnants of the 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers echo through the corridors of Emirates Stadium, a brief glimpse at the Premier League table begins to peter out the elation once felt amongst now disillusioned Arsenal fans. And whilst the Gunners faithful continue to search for a reasonable scapegoat to vent their frustrations, the ever-increasing number of finger pointing at sub-standard, inconsistent players has become an Emirates mainstay. And none have pointed more frequently than at Arsenal’s flying-winger, Theo Walcott.

The England international perhaps best surmises a campaign riddled with rich promises, only to deliver failings in the most epic of proportions in its end.
As he brushes aside Blackburn’s Martin Olsson with consummate ease, the Walcott that smashed three goals past Croatia on September 2008 is rapidly projected into the foreground, bringing with it a chorus of cheers and assurances of potential world-class pedigree.

But then the Walcott that dilutes his precious talent quickly replaces the infamous hatrick hero, showing and proving his own profligacy in front of goal with errors against Everton and Bolton Wanderers this season, which still reverberates harrowingly in the Arsenal faithful’s memory. It is a criticism that has brought football experts such as Chris Waddle to question whether Walcott even has a football brain, an analysis that perhaps rings true for some of his lacklustre performances this year.

The Arsenal forward has only scored three goals this season, having started a total of two games more than last campaigns tally of nineteen. That is only one more goal than his counterpart Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, who has earned just five league appearances so far. It is a reflection of Walcott’s poor development, highlighting his innate lack of composure in front of goal, particularly when compared to his talisman and captain, Robin van Persie.

But it is Walcott’s self-proclaimed prophecies that open himself up to more public scrutiny, boasting confidentially that he would reach a total of 15-20 goals for the season. And as this number is becoming even more difficult to reach, the message that goals are now only a minor matter for him has illuminated his own premature foolishness:

“One of my main jobs as a winger is to get assists. The goals are a secondary thing”. It is also a reminder that he is being played out of his favoured position by his manager Arsene Wenger, tied down and barricaded to the Emirates touchline. But it is a position that is deserved from his latest outings, where actual benefits have been reaped, providing van Persie with nine assists already in a relationship that continues to blossom.

The problem that lies before Walcott then is not one of providing his teammates with well-crafted presents, but being able to receive and unwrap his own. Until he does that, then those Emirates fingers will only continue to point even harder.