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See sport packages. Log in. Nov A hatrick to open his account for England in the World Cup qualifier away to Croatia in only furthered the hype.
Arsenal fans watched on in wonder, but not surprise. Back in , Arsene Wenger was at the peak of his scouting powers. In just the previous three years, his eagle eye had unearthed gems like Fabregas, Van Persie and Gael Clichy, all important members of the first team. With the team entering a period of transition , Walcott was expected to be the one to herald the Emirates Era.
While their career trajectories are very different, they do share one very odd similarity. They belonged to country before club. Despite being a local lad like Steven Gerrard, he never quite enjoyed the same level of adoration reserved for Gerrard. Walcott too was associated with the white before the red. The limelight the Arsenal move pushed him into appeared as nothing more than a flicker compared to the national team spotlight.
It complicated his relationship with Arsenal fans, who took a couple of seasons to completely warm up to him. While there were flickers of magic scattered across his early seasons at Arsenal, it never matched up to the tantalizing hope pinned on him. It was a feeling that never quite went away. Was it wasted potential or was it a case of wrongly judged potential?
Right Wing vs Center Forward. Having played on the wing his entire career, Walcott always had the inner desire to play through the middle. Is Theo a replica of Thierry? It was a debate that really came to the fore in the season. With Van Persie having departed to United and Olivier Giroud still adapting to English football, Walcott put forward his case to be played through the middle.
His finishing in the box was more clinical, with a solid return of 24 goals and 21 assists in the previous two seasons. Thierry joined the club when he was 22 and I want to become an Arsenal legend like him, playing up front as well, which is a big factor for me. His ongoing contract negotiations complicated matters and the standoff resulted in fewer Premier League minutes.
His prolificacy in the Cup competitions, all coming from the wing only furthered his claim to be played down the middle. The pressure on the club grew. Henry moved from the wing to the middle and used to wear No.
Theo deserved his chance. Wenger finally relented and started Walcott through the middle against Reading in mid-December. The first time since , and only the third time he was given the central role. He reprised the role in the following two games, and against Newcastle bagged a hatrick and two assists in arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.
The last goal was a thing of beauty, where after being dragged down in the box, he got right back up, took a touch and clinically chipped over the keeper. The surety of the touch and composure of the finish was an anomaly.
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