The wait and the waste seem over

Speed merchant....Thoe Walcott against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League

Watching Theo Walcott scoring twice against Newcastle last week in the Carling Cup, it confirmed what may have all along been an open secret. As he the dissected Newcastle’s backline again and again with his jet speed and took on the unfortunate Tim Krul in goal, he reminded me very much of a certain Frenchman who used to ply his trade with masterly precision at Highbury.
Of course, I’m talking about Thierry Henry, whose catch-me-if-you-can style flummoxed defenders for eight years and helped us win a clutch of trophies.
Watching Theo on the night of October 27 at St James Park, was almost like seeing Henry back amongst our fold once again. But it wasn’t the Frenchman of course.
Walcott started this season like a house on fire and after an interruption of six weeks due to an ankle injury sustained up in a European Championship qualifier against Switzerland, he has picked up where he left off.
Finally now, it seems the boy wonder is ready to take up the mantle of Henry and become one of the most fearsome strikers in the land.
Finally, all the years of promise and potential look to be actually turning into fruition. The 21 year-old Englishman who has endured a career under the most-vicious scrutiny and most-intense cross examination, is maturing to becoming a player of real stature.
It wasn’t just the goals against Newcastle that mattered. It was the manner of his scoring them and the confidence that accompanied it. Gone are the hesitancy and doubt that have blighted his game. Gone are the hurried, rash decision-making that prompted the likes of Chris Waddle to accuse him of lacking a football brain, earlier this year.
In place of all that, is a firm belief in his ability that he can go past any defender and beat any goalkeeper. He demonstrated this new maturity at Ewood Park in September, where he scored a scorching grounder to help us to a 2-1 win. He showed it again in claiming a fitting hattrick against Blackpool in our first home game of the season in August.
Even last Saturday he almost added to his tally by leaving West Ham’s Herita Ilunga for dead before unleashing a carpetter that beat Robert Green in goal, but not the post and rebounded agonizingly into the grateful keeper’s hands.
In my country, Nigeria, they often describe such metamorphosis as “jungle don mature” – meaning the bush is now fully grown. The new Theo Walcott now looks hungry as a caged lion and burning with a passion to prove himself to all doubters.
It is however crucial to note that Wenger himself has been responsible in holding back Theo’s progress. Curious as this may sound, the Frenchman has hindered the Englishman somewhat by plunking him on the wings and taking him away from the heart of action where he can plunder goals.
After what the Englishman has done so far in front of goal, it looks like Wenger is finally ready to use him as a striker – which has always been his natural position.Acknowledging the threat that Walcott poses to defences, Wenger declared before the Shakhtar Donetsk game in Minsk that:


“Theo can be a prolific goalscorer. Once he is a yard in front of a defender, no one can catch him.”

True indeed. He put on a show just 24 hours later in Minsk as he outran the entire Shakhtar defence in the 10minute to score a wonderful, wonderful goal with his now trademark sprint. The sight of the entire Arsenal standing up to greet the goal couldn’t have served as a better endorsement and appreciation of this youngman’s incredible abilities.
In all the four or so years I’ve been watching him, I’ve never seen him caught by opposing players once he gets on his bike. Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon might have a thing or two to say about it, but methinks Theo is the fastest player in the English premiership.
Which was why Wenger chose to ‘waste’ him on the wings in an attempt to make maximum use of his speed and beat full backs. After all these years, that experiment hasn’t worked wonderfully well. Crossing balls still remains a weak part of his game – something which he has been slated again and again for. Better crossers like Manchester City’s Shaun Wright Phillips and Tottenham’s Gareth Bale have shown how effective a good crosser can be to a team if they do it well.
In their heydays, Marc Overmars, Steve Macmanaman and Robert Pires were one of the best crossers in the world, but for a greyhound like Walcott, it hasn’t come naturally despite years and years of trial.
After these four seasons with us, it now looks like the real Theo Walcott is about to stand up. His destiny seems to lie in front of goal, taking on defenders and shooting past goalkeepers. Having seen the prodigy, Jack Wilshire overtake him as English standard-bearer at the club, Theo knows he has to start delivering. And his response so far has been nothing less than impressive.
All the years of waste and waiting seems over with Theo. As long as he is played as a striker, we hope his time is truly now.