In defence of Theo Walcott: the problem lies more with the club than one player.

Steve Hankey’s back (@Steve_Hankey, he also has a non-Arsenal blog here). Today he discusses Theo Walcott. I promise to write something here soon, been a bit bogged down at the minute. Not a great time to be bogged down. I will write before Christmas. For now, here’s Steve.

In defence of Theo Walcott: the problem lies more with the club than one player.

During my daily trawl of the football sections I came across yet more column inches on Theo Walcott’s impending exit from Arsenal. I tend to agree with arseblog that if Walcott were to stay he would have signed a deal by now. Therefore I think Arsenal fans should brace themselves for yet another high profile exit. Much has been said by Walcott as to why signing a new deal has taken time: it’s not about the money, he wants to play through the middle and that his last contract took five to six months to sign. Personally I think these are merely diplomatic statements by a player who wishes to retain a good relationship with the fans of the club he is currently with. Maybe Theo the man does want to stay at Arsenal. I’ve got a feeling though that Theo the professional is heading for the exit door.

As fans we could rage vociferously about there being too much money in the modern game, no loyalty to clubs etc. These are valid points. However just for a second let’s look at it from Walcott’s boyish-faced perspective. Two years ago he was in a team with Song, Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Clichy. Combined with the talents such as Wilshere, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Szczesny  and himself who remain at the club, there was genuine potential for that team to compete for the title. If it had stayed together and been added to by the experience that we now have in Mertesacker and Arteta, who knows what may have been. Yet we’ve had the worst of both worlds, firstly the talent without the experience and latterly the experience without the same level of talent. How much would Fabregas have benefited from having Arteta at the club at the same time as him for example?

From Walcott’s perspective again I think of all the exits Van Persie’s must have been the hardest to take. Whilst Nasri, Fabregas and Song we’re all “a dream to play with”, on and seemingly off the pitch Van Persie and Walcott were close. Not only that but coming after the exits of the previously mentioned trio, it’s not hard to see Walcott questioning his own position. If he perceives a club going backwards and his contract situation as a potential way out, one can start to see why we’re in the situation with Walcott that we are.

If Theo signs now he has no control, he may commit himself to a team playing Europa League football in the near future and being further away from challenging for the title than when he arrived at the club. Where he is right now, he decides whether he signs with a foreign club in January, he decides whether he leaves on a free for a Chamakh-sized wage. Equally he can decide to sign a new deal with Arsenal. For a player who has never publicly stated his love for the Gunners in the same way Wilshere or Jenkinson has, you can understand why he would want to carry on holding all the cards. Not agree with it, but understand it.

I want Walcott to stay. Not because he’s any better than the players that have previously left, in fact I think he would be the worst of them, but because he is one of if not our best attacking options at this moment in time. No-one else in the squad is as direct or arguably as good a finisher. It’s not just for his qualities that I want Theo to stay though. I believe keeping Walcott despite all and sundry stating he would go would be a statement that the club can keep its best players, that the need to sell our assets to remain in the black has gone. However those in charge of Arsenal in recent years have had a habit of claiming to be doing things the right way yet producing results which indicate that something is wrong, on and off the pitch. I worry that the rot will continue, that Walcott will leave and those running the club will stay in their ivory tower until something disastrous happens. I hope I am wrong and this is all part of the master plan, but I worry that I’m right.