The main news concerning Arsenal this morning is the revelation that Theo Walcott has committed his future to the club by signing a four-year-deal worth £60,000 a week.
This news was expected, but is still very good to hear. Since joining the club back in 2006 from Southampton, Walcott has made a significant impact in Arsenal colours and has firmly established himself in Arsene Wenger’s starting eleven.
In total, he has made 103 appearances for the club and has found the back of the net on 14 occasions. Speaking about signing a new deal, Walcott said that he was ‘absolutely delighted’ to show his loyalty to the Arsenal cause.
The England international went on to say that he is ‘so happy’ at the Emirates because he is working with the ‘best manager in the world’ in Arsene Wenger. Walcott was also very thankful to everyone who had helped him get to ‘this point in my career’.
One of the final points that Walcott made was that he anticipated ‘many successful seasons ahead’ and this is the point I wanted to touch upon today – what can Walcott achieve as a player? Just how good is he?
By the time his contract runs its course in four years time, there is no doubt that Walcott will want to win some trophies with Arsenal. There is only so long he can be an integral part in the ‘potential’ of this team.
In fact, should Walcott start to perform like a world-class player on a more consistent basis, it could lead to some of the other Arsenal youngsters to kick on. Therefore, the team as a whole can become more serious about challenging for major trophies.
So, in my opinion, Walcott is integral to Arsenal’s future. He is one of the most talented youngsters in the team and his rise could coincide with the team’s rise. When he is in the starting eleven and on form, Arsenal are a better team. This could be even more the case in the coming years.
How good is Walcott though? When you compare him with Cristiano Ronaldo, is he at anywhere near the same level? Possibly not. However, he could be as important to Arsenal as Ronaldo is to Manchester United. They are different players, but he can be as influential.
Opposition teams need to fear Walcott every time they play Arsenal. He needs to become the man that they put two players on in an attempt to halt his progress. Then, players such as Andrei Arshavin can run riot elsewhere on the pitch.
There is no doubt that Walcott was disappointing in the two games against Manchester United. This may well be down to his lack of games, but I would still like to have seen more from him.
The next couple of seasons are crucial to Walcott’s future. He needs to show just how good he is on a more consistent basis. He needs to be in contention for the PFA Players Player of the year every season and he needs to help Arsenal progress as a team to win more trophies.
There is plenty of pressure on Walcott’s shoulders, but he can handle it. Show us what you’ve got Theo. You are the future of Arsenal Football Club.
ArseSpeak 
I would love to believe in him but technically he has a lot to learn. Sure he’s got pace but he fails to use trickery. Henry could use his feet to skin defenders whilst Theo usally just pushes and runs.
Apparantly he’ll get his chance to play up front next season. lets hope he has more french guile to his game!
If we can keep the same squad next season, I think we’ll have a good chance of silverwear. We need one more good defender (really good!!) and we’re there. I play for a team in my home town (I know it’s nothing like Arsenal) and it’s been the same squad for the last 4 years and we’re awesome!. The reason being is because we’ve bonded together as a team.
Arshavin will be fantastic next season.
Walcott will be fantastic (much improved).
Song the bong will be fantastic (Very much improved).
We have such a good team and manager, just keep the faith.
RED ARMY.
Tried to find the wage figure you quoted, can’t find it anywhere. The question is does he deserve £60,000. On the whole given recent performances perhaps, he has had only two weak games IMO. Now he has to perform like a senior player more often, picking up the team single handedly like he did against Villarreal. Needs to drift more central to make a more devastating impact. The timing of this news is interesting though isn’t it?
I love Theo Walcott, but £60,000 a week is a lot of money. He’s got a lot of potential but has he truly arrived as a first-teamer? As a game-breaker? Before the Man Utd games, I would’ve said yes. Now, I’m not sure. He was shackled pretty well by Evra and Rooney.
Let’s hope Theo improves next season as well. Maybe he’ll get a few starts up top. Maybe he’ll work out the difference between when to cross and when to shoot. Maybe he’ll score more goals. I hope so, because we’ll need him to improve for the team to have a genuine chance of winning something next year.
Pace alone is not good enough. He needs to work on his other repertoire of football skills like Henry and very important, on his decision making. Too often, his final ball and the decision to pass or run with the ball are made wrongly resulting in loss of the ball. He needs to fix that for next season. Oh and bulk up his upper body in the summer to prevent another shoulder type injury.
i think you r being too generous to walcott. the only thing he has is pace. thats it. no skill no ball control, loses the ball too many times. at times im sorry to say he’s been as bad as ebuoe. a remember a game against birmingham last season when he was the worst player on the pitch dint give a single pass right. his final ball is nonexistent. he is an athlete turned footballer. but he’s young so he can only improve
don’t fprget tough, Thierry started out as a push & run merchant too on the left wing. it took arsene wenger to put him on the path to greatness
The comparisons to Henry are unhelpful at best and pointless at worst. Players like Henry come along very, very rarely and it is likely Theo will never be that good.
Nonetheless his youth is still a big factor and the potential is definitely there to see. To claim he is just an athlete turned footballer or a ‘push and run merchant’ is short sighted and does him a grave disservice. He has incredible balance and has shown moments of breathtaking close control but only in glimpses.
His decision making needs to improve (but has already come on leaps and bounds) and I wish he had a little more self-belief.
Regardless this is a quality footballer who is still learning his trade and will no doubt make another significant leap in progress in the next season. People forget that youngsters like Fabregas are freaks – they are far from the norm: Cole didn’t even get into the Arsenal side until he was 23…