Written by Will Ben on Monday, 25 October 2010 17:22

Overrated, inherently inconsistent or simply inhibited by circumstance? I myself have, at various times, fallen into all three of those camps but have never lost hope that the former/current/future Saviour of English Football (TM) would one day live up to the promise that was promised to us by those football experts who had watched his YouTube video back in 2005/6.

After starting this season in absolutely stunning form - and finally looking to deliver on that promise –  he was (surprise, surprise) injured while on international duty in an innocuous looking challenge off the ball. While England were still celebrating their goal he was being stretchered off with an understandably grumpy look on his face and was to again spend a number of weeks in the Arsenal medical room playing charades with Robin van Persie and training hard to build up his tolerance for perpetual disappointment (presumably).

Whether or not this injury will set his development back remains to be seen, but what has been noticeable is that in the two games he has played since returning commentators have been very quick to highlight the same old flaws in Walcott’s game – those which he seemed to have maybe, potentially and possibly successfully eradicated pre-injury. His early purple patch now just a hazy memory, it is as if they are already anticipating that this setback will lead to an extended period of frustration and inconsistency and have already written him off as the same ol’ Theo who runs blind into alleys and tackles himself with alarming regularity.

But harsh as that may seem (especially to us loyal, honest, god-fearing, English Arsenal fans, who want him to succeed more than anything) there is something very understandable about this perception and for proof of this we really only need to look back in time at the memorable moments from his football career since joining us in January 2006. Massive achievements have almost always been followed by huge disappointments which have, in turn, been followed by long periods of inconsistency. It’s like a never-ending cycle that he has yet to break out of and we can only hope for our, his and England’s sake that he can break it this time around.

Look at the following moments from Walcott’s career - arguably his most memorable achievements - and see if you can spot a pattern:

2006 – Part of the England World Cup squad aged just 17

2007 – Scores first goal for Arsenal against Chelsea in the League Cup final

2008 – Scores first two Premiership goals for Arsenal against Birmingham

2008 – Makes that run and assist in the Champion’s League quarter-final against Liverpool

2009 – Scores a hat-trick for England against Croatia

2010 – Scores a hat-trick against Blackpool

Now what may or may not be evident from looking at that list – which includes some phenomenal stuff, you have to admit – is that Walcott is incredibly unlucky. I mean ridiculously and almost-but-actually-not-at-all laughably unlucky. Why, you may or may not ask? Because every single one of those events has been followed by a massive, massive disappointment. If I may:

2006 – Part of the England World Cup squad aged just 17

Part of the England squad –  great! Doesn’t play at all – terrible. Ridiculed and labelled not good enough – soul-destroying. Takes a long time to recover...until:

2007 – Scores first goal for Arsenal against Chelsea in the League Cup final

First goal for Arsenal – fantastic! In a cup final – amazing! We eventually lose to Chelsea – heartbreaking. To a late Drogba goal - *sigh*...however:

2008 – Scores first two Premiership goals for Arsenal against Birmingham

First Premiership goals for Arsenal – super! Brings us back to 2-1 – justice! Same game as Eduardo’s injury – horrible. We concede a last minute penalty and draw – nightmare. Arguably costs us the title – depressing...but at least there was:

2008 – Makes that run and assist in the Champion’s League quarter-final against Liverpool

Moment of sheer brilliance –  yay! To help us beat Liverpool – um. Penalty two minutes later – no. Out of the competition – typical. Season finished – again...then a bit of a wait until:

2009 – Scores a hat-trick for England against Croatia

Hat-trick for England – at last! Against our biggest rivals - ! Run of great form (goals against Everton and Fenerbahçe) – deserved. Injured while away with England – as per. Out for five months – is that all...and then:

2010 – Scores a hat-trick against Blackpool

Hat-trick against Blackpool –  best display ever?! Goal against Blackburn – brimming with confidence! Back in the England team – great! Injured again – ah, yes.

Ignoring my stupid summaries and concentrating on the issues I think it’s fair to say that Walcott has had a most remarkable succession of false dawns and can truly be counted as one of the unluckiest Arsenal players in recent history. He has barely had any time to celebrate any of his achievements before lady fate has brought her fat hand out of the sky to crush his brittle little dreams and rip his heart or (more commonly) his shoulder right out of his puny, weak, little child body. There are even others that can arguably be added to the list - such as his goal against Chelsea in the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final loss at Wembley or any one of his other injuries – and I often dream of what would have happened had even one or two of these successes been followed by other, further success.

But the fact is that they haven’t and he has typically taken a long, long time to rediscover his form, especially after his injuries.  In light of this I think that pundits, commentators and other ‘experts’ have every right to write off Mr. Walcott for the next five months, despite the fact that their opinions are based on nothing but bias and selective memory as opposed to any informed or detailed consideration of the facts (such as this J).

I, however, will take each game as it comes, and with a Carling Cup game approaching, the Man City win in the bag and the team looking confident there has never been a better opportunity for him to buck the trend. So let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, that honest little Walcott will finally keep his promise and come back as strong as he left us because if he does I have a feeling that this could be a very special season for everyone at AFC.

Will Benn

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Comments (6)

• 25-Oct-2010 18:42 | | akash
  

  what about his equalizer against barcelona last year ?????

• 25-Oct-2010 19:23 | | Roger Tirol  - stating the obvious
  

  yeah and what about his run against Juve in the 1/4 champngs league that lead to an assist? is your point that he always gets injured(which is a pretty obvious statement) or that if he stays fit we will do something special???...if the latter is the case then why didnt you include the more obvious candidate for your post? RVP,appart from not being called up for the World cup when he was 17, its pretty much the same story Don't get it ? WE MIGHT ASWELL GET USED TO THE FACT THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO WIN ANY SILVER WARE,THEN WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT WITH BOTH ONLY PLAYING BIT PARTS. Yes finally we might be seeing the long awaited maturity of our youngsters coming to fruition,but unfortunatleyI think I can see us doing it without the two mentioned.IF they were not injury prone then this post would not have appeared

• 25-Oct-2010 19:24 | | MeanLean
  

  Get article Will and very well written.
  
  It is very true that Theo has had plenty of bad luck. I have always said and will stick by my thoughts that Theo will become one of the most effective players in Europe once he finds his feet. He had found his feet at the start of the season but once again it has been disrupted by injury.
  
  He may not have the natural ability of Jack Wilshere but his attributes will be so important for us in the years to come.
  
  A pattern seems to be taking place. A player comes in, mostly a young player. He gets written off as his performances do not meet expectation. Said player gets bits of games here and there, then once that player strings a long run of games together it is..
  
  "He has come on leaps and bounds and I am glad he is starting to prove me wrong"
  
  Looking at it another way might be easier. Every young player brought into Arsenal have talent, you cannot get away with being in our set up without talent. Once that player develops and gets a run of games together along with the much needed confidence then that player will churn out top performances
  
  Song
  Eboue
  Denilson
  Bendtner
  Fabianski
  Gibbs
  Wilshere
  Nasri
  Walcott
  
  The list is endless. And I am sure the 'he is not good enough for Arsenal"... "Oh, he is proving me wrong" conversation will continue to happen.
  
  I believe that we can pick most of our young players for example Aneke. Give him 15 games alongside Cesc, Nasri, Vermaelen and co and then he will be a top class performer.
  
  All we need is the understanding that young players do not drop into top level football and just perform, it takes time, development and then experience.
  
  Theo will grow into an electric speedy wide goalscorer with the likes of Cesc, Nasri, Rosicky, Wilshere, Arshavin and co in our team Walcott's movement and finishing will be great for us.
  
  Theo.. Theo.. Theo.. Theo!!

• 25-Oct-2010 20:56 | | mark paul hooker
  

  our title hopes did not end at birmingham we were still 3pts clear at the top of the table and our season did not end with the champions league defeat at anfield
  we had a chance to win at old trafford on the sunday that would have put us 2 pts behind united and a possible title win as they dropped a further 5pts after that.
  its the sort of doom and gloom talk that is far too prevalant at this club lately
  this is a club that were behind leeds for a whole season and despite a loss to them 2 games before the end of the season still won the double going behind in the final in extra time
  we won an fa cup after losing a 2 goal lead in the last 5 mins
  won a league cup when rush scored
  won a 4 times played semi v a fine liverpool side
  won in the last minute in juventus to win a place in the cup winners cup final
  put up a great defensive rearguard to beat a fine parma side
  and came back from the dead the following year to beat sampdoria
  anfield 89
  won in the bernabeu
  5-1 in the san siro
  don,t let that silly bastard crying on the pitch when there was a penalty to defend at st andrews cloud your judgement
  this is a club with spirit in its dna
  its up to us fans to show a bit always

• 25-Oct-2010 23:28 | | w12mcee
  

  yes there is more to come from theo but people act like he aint a good player already. after the first leg with barca messi said that pique and co had never been more nervous. he's probably the best impact sub anyone could ask for. theo grew up trying to emulate micheal owen and we threw him on the wing. he gives us moments, like a.a he's not the best player for 90mins but could destroy the universe in 10 secs. plus he's starting to look like he's been down the gym with his sister so thats all good too!

• 26-Oct-2010 07:24 | | Anonymous  - Gunner 4life
  

  theo is great for us but just unlucky with injuries and 2me theo is made 4 attack to flourish like TT not a winger , AW help us we want to see him shine upfront and more goals 2 come from legs as dat of TT .

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