Theo Walcott will go into next season off the back of the most productive shift of his career. A total of 13 goals across 25 starts for the Gunners in all competitions at last begun to deliver on his much-vaunted potential as one of England’s brightest prospects. Those statistics could, and perhaps should, have been ever better however.
Snubbed in England’s World Cup Squad, Walcott had a point to prove from day one of last season and duly flew out of the traps, blitzing Blackpool at the Emirates in gameweek 2 with a hat-trick and following this up with another quality strike against Blackburn a week later. An ankle injury sustained in England’s Euro Qualifier against Switzerland then de-railed the Walcott express as the absence saw others take their chance – Wenger dropped Walcott to the bench on his return to fitness, bringing him back for an inauspicious return in the 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle. Further bench duty followed.
Walcott did not start another league game until gameweek 19’s 3-1 win over Chelsea – he took his chance in style, a goal and an assist offered a reminder of his early season devastation. Firmly back in favour, Wenger started him in eight consecutive league matches from gameweek 21 onwards. Further ankle problems kept him out briefly in March, before Walcott went on to start seven of the last nine.
Sadly, the early season form had deserted him in the second-half of the campaign. As Arsenal’s title charge whimpered, Walcott similarly backfired – he managed just 2 goals and 2 assists from gameweek 27 onwards, and he failed to add to his tally of 7 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points from that point. Despite a ninth league goal in the final day 2-2 draw at Fulham, Walcott’s season failed to live up to the early promise that hinted he’d be amongst the league’s leading performers and a huge Fantasy asset as a 7.0 midfielder in the FPL.
Key Factors
- Barring injury, Walcott should enjoy more starts and further prolonged spells in the Arsenal lineup. There will always be fierce competition for places but, with Samir Nasri’s future still in flux and patience wearing thin with Andrei Arshavin, the smart money is on Walcott earning 25+ league starts next term. That should translate into another productive season – double figures in both the goal and assist columns should be a realistic target.
- Walcott enjoyed a successful season but, while he started the season with a fanfare to bely his Fantasy price tag, like the Gunners themselves, he stuttered at the end of the season and, as a result, may not suffer a major price hike this term.
- Classed as a midfielder last season, we’d expect a similar situation again. Although regularly employed on the flank by Wenger, Walcott can tuck inside when Robin Van Persie comes deep to dictate play and we’ve seen Walcott’s pace unlocked with great effect by searching through-balls from the Dutchman and skipper Cesc Fabregas. Walcott can play a central attacking role and has expressed an interest in doing so. Should Wenger shift to 4-4-2, we could yet see Walcott given more opportunities down the middle.
- Arsenal’s opening half of the season looks extremely favourable; while the opening couple of fixtures look testing, things improve drastically soon after. Walcott started last season on fire and will be looking for repeat performances this term. Pre-season form will tell us more.
