Theo Walcott’s best position for Arsenal has been a topic of heated debate over recent seasons, but so far this campaign, the Englishman has been given an extended run in his preferred central role and his performances have been mightily impressive.
The vast majority would now concur that Walcott is Arsenal’s best striking option, ahead of Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman is an important player for the Gunners and receives a great deal of criticism, some of which is particularly unfair. Nevertheless, Walcott gives Arsène Wenger’s side a more aggressive and offensive dimension.
The Gunners are able to attack with greater pace and unpredictability, whereas Giroud’s limited pace can make Arsenal’s attacking phases laboured and somewhat repetitive. Walcott also brings the best out in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Ozil in particular has been crying out for a player of Walcott’s ilk, who he can feed with incisive through balls. The World Cup winner could build a formidable partnership with the former Southampton star this term.
How has Walcott improved?
However, prior to this season, there were many discerning voices raised about Walcott’s ability to lead the line for Arsenal. Many of the doubts have subsided in recent weeks however, thanks to a tremendous improvement in his all-round game.
Walcott has always been blessed with great pace, but his footballing intelligence has previously been called into question. The 26-year-old is someone who plays by instinct; if he has a split-second decision to make, he predominantly chooses the right option, but if he has ample time, he can be found wanting.
However, his role in Arsenal’s second goal in the 3-0 win against Manchester United last weekend typified his development and maturity in the striker role. Ozil played a delightful through ball which Walcott gratefully ran on to, although the angle wasn’t ideal for a shot at goal.
Eighteen months ago, he may have aimlessly thrashed an attempt wide of goal, but no; he displayed unselfishness and composure to lay the ball off to Ozil, who was in a more central position in the penalty area. The end-result was a goal and Walcott’s role in that cannot be under-estimated. He has got three assists from seven starts in all competitions, which interestingly, is more than he has provided in his last 11 games on the right flank.
Walcott’s movement is one of the attributes he’s improved immeasurably this season. He terrorised Leicester City at the King-Power Stadium and caused Daley Blind and Chris Smalling multiple problems at the Emirates. At times in previous seasons, Walcott was completely anonymous in the central role because he simply didn’t have the nouse or imagination to trouble elite centre-backs.
Henry, Wenger and Sanchez are the key influence
However, he admits the influence of Thierry Henry has been extremely beneficial to his game. Whilst on International duty with England, Theo admitted that Henry’s advice has been key to his evolution as a centre-forward.
“Having Thierry at the club now, I have been chatting to him on a personal level behind the scenes to learn things from him. I’ve had quite a few words with him about some of the games I’ve played.”
“He has just given me his analysis on myself and, if I’ve needed to ask him some questions about it, he’s always there. That’s what coaches are there for.”
In addition, Walcott was also full of praise for his teammate Alexis Sanchez and manager Arsène Wenger; crediting the duo for adding aggression to his game. Whilst on International duty with England, he admitted one of the key improvements in his game has been his added aggression.
“Going back to the question about when it clicked about going up front, that was one of the things Arsene wanted me to do – to be more aggressive on the pitch. Maybe he’s sensed that I’ve had more aggression.”
“I actually said, ‘Do you want me to get stuck into people?’ That was my reaction. He said, ‘No, I’m not saying that’. He wanted me to be more aggressive, in terms of running at players, closing them down, tracking back, being there and in their faces.”
Walcott admits that Alexis Sanchez has acted as an inspiration and motivation. His unbounding energy and admirable desire is infectious and it’s clearly rubbed off on Theo.
“When I first saw Alexis Sanchez join the club, I thought, ‘Wow, yeah, this is a big statement’. Then, actually seeing in the flesh what he does – you see a winner there. He wants to win and he wants to achieve things. And, with that work-rate, if he can do it, then why can’t I do it?”
"Maybe that was missing a few years ago. Now, I’ve really thought, ‘I need to step up’ and players like that help.”
This new-look aggressive attitude was typified by his tireless display against Manchester United. In the past some of his performances have been rather lazy and complacent, but his work-rate was exceptional against Louis van Gaal’s men.
The way he closed down Bastian Schweinsteiger and then launched into a crunching tackle on the World Cup winner would have been unthinkable last season. He also hurried Daley Blind for the entirety of Sunday’s clash. Blind is one of United’s most effective distributors, but he was never allowed time on the ball and he subsequently made a number of uncharacteristic errors.
These improvements made by Walcott may only appear minimal, but the affect it’s had on his game and more importantly the team, are far more significant. Arsenal’s display against United was one of their most dynamic and purposeful in recent memory; Theo Walcott played a critical role in that.
Walcott is not yet the finished article
Having said all that, Walcott is far from being the finished article. Whilst he isn’t the focal point of an attack like Olivier Giroud, he needs to improve his hold-up play. He doesn’t have the stature or strength of the Frenchman, but the likes of Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez still manage to retain possession extremely effectively. This is the next step in Walcott’s development in becoming a top-class forward.
It’s difficult to dominate a match for an entire 90 minutes with a striker such as Walcott in your ranks. Whilst the game was essentially over within the opening 20 minutes on Sunday, there will be big games in the near future where Arsenal must maintain control and recycle possession effectively. However, Walcott likes to drop deep to receive the ball in the midfield area whereas Giroud prefers to adopt a more orthodox centre-forward’s position.
If the Gunners emerge through the first stage of their attacking transition with the ball, having Walcott up top can prove devastating on the counter-attack, but in the second-half on Sunday, Arsenal’s attacking threat diminished because he was unable to retain possession. If he can hold the ball up more effectively, he will be a far more versatile striker.
Despite this, after all the frustration and criticism directed at Wenger for his failure to add a striker in the transfer window, Walcott’s sparkling form has quelled the critics somewhat. He has scored 12 goals in his last 14 starts for Arsennal, proving that he’s more than just a pacey forward with raw talent.
He is now beginning to mature into a top-level player; his movement has evolved considerably, his finishing is constantly improving and he is also adding creativity and unselfishness to his game. Wenger has clearly placed his unequivocal faith in Theo, so if he can stay fit for a prolonged period, he has a wonderful opportunity to cement his role as first-choice striker and fulfil his true potential.