It’s Time For Theo

It was one of Walcott’s rare league starts this season and, for me, the game against Reading was a rare chance to see the 18 year old who has been under the spotlight for the last month or so finally in action for a complete 90 minutes. Walcott’s recent form has earned him an eligible starting place in the squad, according to fans, and, for once, Wenger decided to go with the fans on this and start him ahead of Eboue on the right.

The promise was big when Theo arrived and Wenger always asked us to be patient and give Theo more time. I, for one, was one of the doubters and one of those who at some moment of frustration scapegoated Theo. But now I realize that the boss is right, All Theo needs is time, and plenty of it, to sharpen the skills that he has shown today.

Even though Walcott was definitely “Man of the Match” against Reading and his performance was a huge leap forward, there are still some aspects of his game that he should work on and they are:

1- His runs: Walcott uses his pace to get by defenders but usually drives himself into very tight positions that he can’t really make use of the ball anymore but I guess that comes with experience and more games

2- His left foot: In some incidents the split second it took him to take the ball from his left to his right costed him a decent shot and that clearly showed when he moved from the right to the left when Hleb was out …

3- His vision: He should have more sense of where every player is because some of his passes fall too short or go too long and some go behind a player

On the other hand, Walcott has plenty of assets to offer for any manager to work with which include his pace and skill and he doesn’t really lose his balance very quickly … even when he trips he gets up real fast or keeps himself from falling and goes on. That is really a very good asset and combined with pace and skill can be deadly provided, of course, he gets a good run of games to gain the experience needed to make him a world class player. Theo just needs time, that’s evident. He needs more starts during the remainder of the season and next season and he will come through.

Cesc seems to be working out a good understanding with Theo as well in passing and, while I guess it might have something to do with him giving Theo confidence, I do believe that the two have a good understanding and a good relation. Just the idea of Theo and Cesc next season in full gear is mouth watering. Seeing Walcott out there gets me all excited about next season. I hope it doesn’t run short on its promises to be our season.

by Zickar, TGF