DPA /London
The triumvirate of Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Oezil may be getting the plaudits at Arsenal right now but it is also the form of England’s Theo Walcott that has helped propel the Gunners towards the top of the Premier League.
Still the youngest player to represent England shortly after his 17th birthday in 2006, expectation has weighed heavily on Walcott’s slim shoulders ever since.
Comparisons with Thierry Henry, a legend at Arsenal, and a number of serious injuries which stopped his momentum, have not helped but this season Walcott has shown signs that he could be approaching the best and most consistent form of his career.
Long utilised on the wing by manager Arsene Wenger, Walcott has taken his chance to play in what he says is his preferred position through the middle.
Using his blistering pace to great effect, he scored four goals this season, taking his tally to 12 in his last 15 starts.
Wenger told reporters last week that the 26-year-old’s form has been integral to his side’s improvement, noting his increased commitment.
“I always said that he will play through the middle and he got his knee injury when he played well there against Tottenham (in January 2014),” The Guardian quoted Wenger as saying.
“It took him a while to come back, I must say. But now in the last few games, he looks always dangerous in this position. The quality of his movement is outstanding and he has found his finishing again.”
His tally of 80 goals in 314 games for Arsenal is modest when compared with the club’s record goalscorer, Henry, but with the Frenchman a regular visitor, Walcott has reportedly been taking every chance to pick his brains.
“Let’s not forget how our strikers developed well here,” Wenger said.
“Thierry Henry arrived here and he had not scored goals before and scored plenty here. There are very few examples of players who left us and scored more elsewhere than here. We know how to develop strikers quite well.
“Maybe he can score more goals to chances. He gets a lot of chances, but the finishing is a bit up and down.
“But what you want from Theo is the commitment he showed against Man United in the challenges. If he adds that to his game then he will be difficult to stop.”
Having missed almost all of 2014 - and the World Cup - with a cruciate knee injury, Walcott is enjoying his football again.
On Tuesday he has a chance to show just how good he can be when he plays a Bayern Munich side on a run of 12 wins out of 12 in all competitions.
Two defeats out of two in the group have left Arsenal facing a huge
battle to qualify but Walcott said Arsenal just need to play to their potential.
“We just need to move on from the first couple of results,” he told reporters. “They have happened. We know we are capable of getting results against Bayern Munich and we obviously want to put things right,” Walcott said.
“Looking at our last home match against Manchester United, the intensity of our game was different to what it was like against Olympiacos in the Champions League.
“We just need to work hard, and that is what it comes down to. If everyone is doing their job on the day it is difficult to beat us.
“Playing against Bayern and their quality is of course going to be a good challenge for us and a difficult game.
“We know we can beat anyone and we are going to be completely ready for this one.”
Theo Walcott
