As Arsenal pick up the pace in their pursuit of third-placed Tottenham, the performances of Theo Walcott continue to flourish with every passing game. So often a source of Fantasy frustration, the Gunners’ wide man has grown into the role of first-team regular and has developed a streak of consistency that is proving pivotal to his side’s buoyant displays as the final third of the campaign unfolds:
With his side now out of all cup competitions, Arsene Wenger can focus firmly on the battle for a Champions League spot. The Gunners have clawed back their north London rivals’ lead to just a single point and with rotation the furthest thing from the Frenchman’s mind, Walcott’s starts look assured. While the likes of Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yossi Benayoun battle it out for a place on the left, Walcott has begun all but one of Arsenal’s last 23 league games, a clear show of Wenger’s faith.
The Arsenal boss heaped praise on Walcott after his contribution helped seal a 2-1 win over Newcastle earlier in the week, going on to say:
He was outstanding from the first to the last minute. It’s one of the best, best games I’ve seen of Theo because I felt he had absolutely everything in his game – combined well, crossed well, was always in the game. He’s making good progress; he’s an intelligent boy. People forget he is very young – 22 years old.
Last Monday’s assist for Robin Van Persie’s equaliser took Walcott’s Fantasy haul to 126 points, bringing him level with Sunderland’s Stephane Sessegnon, with only four other midfielders returning more points thus far. Indeed, a comparison of Walcott’s consistency against the top 5 midfielders highlights just how regular his returns have proven to be:
| Player | Points | Owned | Apps | No of Games Attacking Returns | Home Attacking Returns | Away Attacking Returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Bale | 156 | 42.4% | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 |
| Clint Dempsey | 151 | 20.6% | 28 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| David Silva | 148 | 42.9% | 27 | 16 | 9 | 7 |
| Nani | 133 | 17.8% | 24 | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| Theo Walcott | 126 | 5.1% | 27 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| Stephane Sessegnon | 126 | 14.3% | 27 | 11 | 6 | 5 |
While David Silva leads the way for consistency, providing a goal or assist in 16 of his 27 appearances for City, a downturn in form has seen him produce in just four of his last 12, as Roberto Mancini’s side struggle to break down opponents.
Analysing his home/away returns further emphasises Walcott’s consistency. Clint Dempsey has also provided attacking returns in 12 games, but nine of those have come at the Cottage, with the US international drawing blanks in all but three of his 14 away trips. Walcott’s 12, on the other hand, have been evenly balanced, with six at the Emirates and six on the road; supplying Robin Van Persie from the Arsenal right clearly boosts his chances of producing the goods, regardless of fixture.
Overall, Gareth Bale has produced returns in only one more occasion than Walcott, with the Gunners man proving slightly more reliable than Stephane Sessegnon. Goals against the likes of United, Chelsea and Tottenham underline his capabilities of returning the points in the biggest of matches, too.
In spite of this, Walcott’s ownership is a mere 5.1%, with his current cost of 8.9 below his starting price of 9.0. There’s an argument that Van Persie is all the Arsenal coverage you need but as long as the Dutchman is scoring, Walcott has every chance of picking up an assist or two; the duo’s understanding means the winger has returned 10 assists – his highest tally in a single season so far – and is 30 points clear of Mikel Arteta, the second highest performer in the Gunners midfield.
Arsenal’s recent resilience has seen them battle back to defeat the likes of Sunderland, Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle- a clear indication of an ever-improving maturity amongst Wenger’s charges as they hunt down a Champions League spot for the fifteenth season in succession.
With games against Villa, QPR, Wolves and Wigan to follow in the next six gameweeks, there’s little doubt that Van Persie could plunder the points again as he stretches his lead at the top of the FPL standings. Walcott, though, is continuing to demonstrate that being the second best Fantasy option to his captain in the Gunners’ rankings is anything but a negative thing.
