I would quite agree that he does looks lost sometimes and that can again be linked to him being on the wing. If he's upfront, that would happen marginably less because he knows a striker's job, to score, there won't be any doubt when he gets the ball like on the wing when he'll be thinking should I play it back, play a one-two, beat the defender, cross it in, hold it, before he makes that decision, I think any decent defender will have got the ball by then whearas upfront, he knows his job and his strengths are more suited there.

I think playing him in the centre would not work untill he reaches a stronger physiche, its generally centre halves that are stronger taller and more likely to push him off the ball. He has the pace to beat left/right backs while he gains the experiance and bulk to achive his potential.

Wenger - Shoulder operation will make Walcott quicker
By Richard Clarke

Theo Walcott will be quicker this season because his shoulder has been mended, according to Arsène Wenger. On Sunday at Blackburn, the 18-year-old started his first competitive game since having an operation in May. Walcott had been troubled by a shoulder injury for the second half of last season and he even missed the final few games of the campaign to get surgery out of the way. He returned to pre-season training early but progress is slow with this sort of injury and Wenger has only just seen the benefits of his treatment — surprisingly in the speed tests.

“It has taken him some time but now in the last week I can see he is really coming back,” said Wenger. “I had the same experience with Philippe Senderos when he had an operation on his shoulder. It takes you much longer than you expected. When you fall down and your shoulder pops out, you cannot be the same player. Even when they are back for four or five weeks, when you test them in normal training they have not recovered their speed. It is because of your co-ordination. Only then do you discover how much a player needs his arms and shoulders to play football. It is unbelievable.”

Wenger found it strange that Walcott was not even discussed for full England duty when Steve McClaren was struggling for forwards against Germany this week. “I was surprised last week when people were talking about a striking crisis in England and nobody mentioned Walcott,” he commented. That said the Arsenal manager has still not decided on the former Southampton player’s best position. “I am not completely sure yet,” Wenger admitted. “At the moment I feel he is a bit more of a wide player but because he makes good runs he would be good in the centre as well. But you then have to find the right partner for him. He is a runner so you need someone who keeps the ball next to him. It is difficult for him and that is why I am using him more wide.”

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?this ... tt+quicker

When I've seen him for u21's he has been impressive and hopefully he will light up the game tonight as well. Any competative game he can get under his belt is a bonus; he needs games to regain his spark and he should be able to make an impression tonight without being battered around like he was on sunday. Just hope he doesn't pick up any knocks.

I wouldn't exactly say he has been anonymous so far in his career. I think he got 11 assists last year (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and had an impressive start to last seasons campaign. But I would certainly agree that he needs to up his performances if he is to really break into the first team and nail down a place. The shoulder injury has probably dented his confidence as any major injury early on in a career might not to mention slowed his progress a bit. The whole England debacle certainly wouldn't have helped but that is behind him now and at the end of the day he has made one appearence so far and it wasn't exactly a total horror show for him so I think there are more positive contributions to come from Theo. Nothing is certain, granted, but It's my gut feeling he will show improvement this season (at least I hope he will!)

he has nt ived up to his billing yet but he is still young. he is always played out of what his position is (and i m not saying thats a nad thing) so its going to take time for him to adjust. He always looks good for the u21's when he plays upfront.

I think he is a lot like SWP and Quincy - its as if his feet are to quick for his head and he sometimes struggles to communicate between the two. that will come with age and practice - by the looks of it SWP has made a large leap forward this last few months. i m sure theo will do the same

9 Assists last season in total for Theo. Not too bad; most of that is in the first couple of months of the season when he did very well. After that though, his confidence and his ability to beat a man seemed to drop a notch, and aside from the CC goal he eventually became rather anonymous. He's jus back from the shoulder injury, so we should give him at least another month and then see if he's coming backa nd doing better.

I wouldn't say a blinder but he did play very well when he had the ball, what I liked was he started on the left and did well so perhaps he can be cover for both wings for us.

Walcott started off badly, a poor pass in a good position then slicing when given a free shot from eight yards. Then he got into the game, once we scored, causing havoc to the right hand side, drawing fouls from Romania, passing the ball very well, tracking back, getting in decent crosses (they could be a lot better though) and not too bad set plays, he also made runs into the box when the ball was on the other flank but they were not quite in the right area yet. Once they equalised, Walcott got the ball, cut inside, beat 4 or 5 players then tried to pass it into the net from outside the box, forcing a very good save but just a little more power and he might have scored. Then England faded and Walcott saw little of the ball, switched to the right at half time.

Then England's left back was exposed due to Adam Johnson's failure to help out while Walcott lacked any real threat due to once again not getting the ball. Dribbled well again but got few chances to pass or cross, he and a team mate made a real mess of a short corner routine. Moved up front late on, didn't get the ball but could have had a penalty when two defenders man handled him but he got away from them and the keeper was quick enough off his line to get the ball away from Walcott's feet.

All in all, good to see him play well, room for improvement in his crossing and needs to make his far post runs so he gets into shooting positions to be a threat but this will do his confidence the world of good I hope.

Full post here : viewtopic.php?f=28&t=17856 BB

i can't believe mclaren's putting smith and owen in for england and not giving theo a sniff
why did he ever take him to the world cup if he was going to ignore him the minute an opportunity to really play him arises?
he hasn't been an arsenal regular...yet. but his obvious pace and skill would work well with either crouch; or as part of a more flexible attacking line up with shaun wright-philips and joe cole.
i could even see him working with defoe or owen. a very mobile unit but still very different.
i think walcott will come good, he's got pace and skill already but i really like his attittude.he seems very grounded, unlike a certain mr.pennant who flushed away his obvious potential.

I think Sven had lost confidence in the strikers outside of Crouch/Rooney/Owen and was losing the plot in those late two years. Theo could have been useful but may well have just been taking along for experience. Maclaren won't pick Walcott as he isn't playing up front regularly whereas his other strikers are and a wish to be seen as the opposite of Sven, if a move would create him bad publicity or get him questioned, he won't do it.

As it is, Walcott seems better off playing regularly for the U21's, he can gain confidence there, he will learn a lot playing against the best young talent across Europe and Pearce has already shown he is willing to move him around in friendlies which will help his development.

Exactly. It really annoys me when people criticise Theo for his inclusion in the World Cup. It's not his fault he didn't get played, and it was really stupid to bring a player along if he wasn't going to be getting an opportunity. Hard to criticise someone's inclusion if they don't actually get a single minute on the pitch.

Wenger convinced by Theo

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 25,00.html

Arsene Wenger is convinced teenager Theo Walcott has all the attributes to spearhead Arsenal's attack, in the future. He will not ask the highly-rated youngster to fill that role against Portsmouth at Emirates Stadium on Sunday - or in the near future. "The quality Theo has can be decisive. He's very direct and quick and he's improving his link-play and is more aggressive now. Once he plays through the middle he can be very dangerous. He has the quality to make good runs behind the defenders. So in the future, certainly, he will be a central striker. He can make a difference because in England you have not many strikers with his qualities. He is so quick that defenders feel if they are even one yard behind him they will never catch him back. But it's good for him to still learn the job on the flank and improve his short game nearer the touchline."

I understand Wenger's point of view, but what about his finishing? Yes, he is quick, can make runs etc, but to be a striker you have to be clinical. I'm not sure he will get that killer instinct...

He is looking more comfortable when I see him and seeing him as more of an agressive player fills me with a bit more confidence that he won't be a push over for defenders who think they can take shots at him.

Im looking forward to his transformation from winger to striker.

I think that Wednesday night was his best showing in an Arsenal shirt. He ran out of gas a little and his final ball certainly needs work but for the first time he took on his full back and skinned him repeatedly. It was almost as if Wenger had said to him. Take your man on and if you lose the ball don't worry do it again. I absolutely believe that all he needs is a bit of belief. Other than that he has everything that a Wengerball player requires.

Wenger - Walcott knows this season is vital for him

http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?this ... al+for+him

This is a big season for Theo Walcott, according to both Arsène Wenger and the player himself. The 18-year-old has now made 35 appearances for Arsenal since he joined Arsenal from Southampton in a fanfare of publicity in January 2006. That only intensified the following summer when Walcott was chosen for the England World Cup squad without having played for his new club. However the Under-21 winger has yet to command a regular place under Wenger outside the Carling Cup. When questioned before the weekend whether Walcott was ready to emerge now, his manager was supportive and yet cautious.

“Frankly I don’t know yet,” he replied. “I could say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. No because he is long enough in the game to have learned and yes because he is still young. “He told me he knows it’s an important year for him. “I studied the team who won the World Cup for France in 1998. They all started age 18. “If you don’t get in the team at 18, 19, 20 doubts start. He’s at an age now where you expect him to exert his personality and turn up in big games. OK he will still look young on occasions but as well it is [time] to show that this guy can be a player. “I think he will.”