How talented was Theo Walcott?

[KirkDuyt]

Not a terrible player, but set the bar too high with that 16yr old at the WC thing. Bit like Nani who was gping to outshine even Ronaldo then didnt.

Or Bojan Krkic. That kid was amazing in fm and Fifa.

 

[devilish]

I had a mate, an arse fan, he was so delluded and laughed off when I told him Nani was better than Walcott and Berbatov was better than Bendtner, he claimed the opposite.


The most frustrating footballer you've seen play for us? Have you missed Lingard, Depay and I am sure couple of other wearing the club's shirt? If Nani was frustrating than I dare you describe an average speed merchant like Wallcot, with even less footballing brain.

I've seen nani play life a half a dozen time. He's the laziest player I've ever seen. Compared to him Pogba is Keane on steroids

 

[MalcolmTucker]

Pace is always dangerous in football. If you can run fast, control the ball and finish/pass then you’ll always do well.

I think this is especially true in youth football. When he broke through players from as young as 9 years old played football on full size pitches which is utterly ridiculous. Players like him with immense pace and early blossomers stood out as they could kick and run but never developed the the technique in tight spaces which is why England always looked a level below teams like Spain and Netherlands on the ball. Glad we've adopted more contemporary training methods for our youth teams over the last 10 years.

 

[fps]

He wasn’t a special player, arguably there are many fast young wingers like him always out there and he happened to get the hype and push, at which point due to the training and guidance of being at a top club he was able to pass himself off as being more than he was for a few seasons.

He was caught between two stools (stalls?) in that he wanted to become a striker in the Henry mould while Wenger didn’t think he could do it. Ultimately Wenger was proved right as Walcott didn’t have the killer instinct, decision making and physicality to be an Henry style (not quality, few had that, style) player.

 

[MrEleson]

He’s one of those players that displayed talent early but never managed to actualise that talent on a consistent basis.

He had brief moments where he glimmered brightly like in this CL game against L’pool where he produced one of the all-time best assists in the competition that probably would have been spoken about much more if Arsenal didn’t sh#t the bed and eventually lose:

From 15:21, exhilarating run:


I think he also had a brief period in 12/13 around Christmas when he looked like he’d turned a corner and finally arrived at ‘that’ level with a few top class level performances back to back only to then fade out again. Remember him scoring this goal brilliant against Newcastle as part of a hat-trick during that period:




All in all, a career that began with a lot of promise but then went on to have one with few ups and many downs - never quite arriving at that top level.

 

[OL29]

I've seen nani play life a half a dozen time. He's the laziest player I've ever seen. Compared to him Pogba is Keane on steroids

Nani wasn’t lazy at all, what is it with united fans always labelling flair players as lazy?

 

[devilish]

Nani wasn’t lazy at all, what is it with united fans always labelling flair players as lazy?

Well that's not what I saw with my very eyes. Time and time again he refused to backtrack despite the ball was just 2 meter away from him. He should thank his God that Keane wasn't his teammate. The guy would have killed him on the spot.

Also I was raised watching the likes of Gullit, Baggio, Van Basten and Maradona play. They had more talent and flair in their pinkie then the entire Nani family

 

[Scroto Baggins]

Pace merchant with no plan B, until the pace slowly went. Was unlucky with injury.

This is pretty much the complaint levelled against Bale a lot, and he is certainly is no stranger to injury problems. But Bale has had an exceptional career compared to Walcott.

Both were blisteringly fast when young. I recall watching him make Maicon look like a Sunday league footballer. Guess Bale had that magical left foot striking ability that put him in a class above Walcott.

Walcott was like another Sturridge or Welbeck, hyped English player who never quite reached the heights people thought they would. You can put Wilshere in the same boat, Wilshere was a talented footballer, just was made of glass and seemed like he enjoyed the party lifestyle rather than actually putting in the hard yards to push his footballing career to the next level.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

He was a good player for a while to be fair. A 22 year old Walcott would walk into our side at the moment. Expectations probably got a bit carried away because his ridiculous pace meant that when he was on form he could be very exciting to watch. He's had a good career though

 

[Zlatattack]

He was a good player for a while to be fair. A 22 year old Walcott would walk into our side at the moment. Expectations probably got a bit carried away because his ridiculous pace meant that when he was on form he could be very exciting to watch. He's had a good career though

TBF though, we don't have a RW. Some of our fans could probably walk into that position.

 

[norm87cro]

More than: Welbeck
Less than: Rashford

 

[FrankDrebin]

Was for the majority of his time a more effective player off the sub bench then as a starter.

 

[RedRonaldo]

One of the most promising and talented youngster at the time... quite overrated and overhyped on hindsight.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

I don't actually remember the hype being that big for Walcott, am I wrong? Obviously he went to the World Cup at 16/17 which was ridiculous, but I don't particularly remember actual people talking him up like he was the next Rooney or anything

I remember bigger hype for Wilshere

 

[Harry190]

I don't actually remember the hype being that big for Walcott, am I wrong? Obviously he went to the World Cup at 16/17 which was ridiculous, but I don't particularly remember actual people talking him up like he was the next Rooney or anything

I remember bigger hype for Wilshere

They hyped him almost as much as Rooney.

 

[Bilbo]

I remember thinking on the night he got his hat-trick vs Croatia - this kids going to rule football. Would never have imagined that would end up being the peak of his career

 

[SalfordRed18]

Would probably be a fantastic wide forward in the modern game

 

[Guiseppe Rossi]

Massively overrated player purely because he was English who believed his own hype,he had a couple of fantastic season, I'll give him that, but was and still is distinctly average and inconsistent ever since. I'd put him on a par with Aaron Lennon personally
I genuinely think welbeck was a better player before injuries destroyed him and he continued to get England caps on reputation alone for way too long
He's not good enough for Everton imo

 

[GodShaveTheQueen]

Walcott was one of those players who you knew had great attributes and thought could do wonders if he had a better footballing brain. Unfortunately, he never developed a footballing brain and eventually was a one trick pony, albeit very good at it.

Nani on the other hand had a really good football brain, but was way too inconsistent. His footballing brain was 10 times better than Walcott's and on their best days, it's no question that Nani was more than double the player.

But with respect to peaks, I wouldn't say they were far off each other even though completely different players. I have my United bias and will say Nani was better, but I wouldn't call an Arsenal fan deluded if they thought Walcott was better.

 

[choiboyx012]

Not very....

 

[Offside]

Honestly never rated him as a World Class talent but he was a very gifted finisher and that showed over the years at Arsenal.

 

[Masterman]

He vastly outperformed what his talent level should have allowed him, someone like Aaron Lennon is far more talented yet has much less goals in his record.

 

[rcoobc]

If he was playing under Fergie or peak Mourinho, he could’ve become a truly great player. Not world class though, I don’t think he ever had it in him, but a player with unique traits that, under a right manager, could’ve been nurtured more carefully. Wenger’s style didn’t really suit him.

He never had Owen’s goalscoring instincts, but he could’ve become a budget version of him, if coached right and with the right example in the team itself.

Is Mourinho known for patience and bringing players though?

 

[Brightonian]

Very fast, reasonably technically gifted, and for a key period very clinical in front of goal too.

What derailed him was not a lack of talent, it was that right at the peak of his abilities he decided he wanted to be a central striker, fell out with Wenger over it, lost a lot of game time for a couple of seasons, and was never actually well suited to the central role anyway.

If he'd stayed on the wing as a wide forward, he'd have strung together a few 20-goal seasons, stayed in the England picture for longer, and would now be seen as a very good player who hit a physical decline a bit early because of how early he started as a PL regular.

 

[Crimson King]

They hyped him almost as much as Rooney.

Le Tissier actually said Walcott could be better than Rooney around the time Arsenal signed him, although he would've had his Southampton blinkers on I guess.

I feel like a lot of Arsenal youngsters get massive hype after a few decent performances then disappear off the face of the earth. It happens at United too obviously (Macheda, et al) but I feel like we get reminded about it a lot and take a bit of shit for it, unlike the high profile Arsenal false messiahs.

 

[Alex99]

He wanted to be the next Henry. He was never going to be the next Henry because he wasn't a natural striker, and he lacked the composure in front of goal. He could have been a fairly decent winger/inside forward, but he wasted two years either injured or sulking about not being played in a position that didn't suit him.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

He vastly outperformed what his talent level should have allowed him, someone like Aaron Lennon is far more talented yet has much less goals in his record.

Was Lennon really more talented? Outside of his pace I thought he was fairly ordinary

 

[harms]

Is Mourinho known for patience and bringing players though?

That is a fair point, but he could've used him if he had brought him for a significant sum. Like Robben, for example (although Robben was better). I meant stylistically though, personality-wise it would've been a 50/50 chance. Mourinho would've used his "little kitten" method and Walcott would've either take up the challenge and become a great player, or crumble under the pressure and ruin his career.

 

[rcoobc]

I don't actually remember the hype being that big for Walcott, am I wrong? Obviously he went to the World Cup at 16/17 which was ridiculous, but I don't particularly remember actual people talking him up like he was the next Rooney or anything

I remember bigger hype for Wilshere

I agree with you

 

[Web of Bissaka]

sulking about not being played in a position that didn't suit him.

I remember this.

He's good but not that good.

 

[Sandikan]

Nani wasn’t lazy at all, what is it with united fans always labelling flair players as lazy?

Always ever so slightly gets the alarm bells going...

 

[Sandikan]

He wanted to be the next Henry. He was never going to be the next Henry because he wasn't a natural striker, and he lacked the composure in front of goal. He could have been a fairly decent winger/inside forward, but he wasted two years either injured or sulking about not being played in a position that didn't suit him.

Agreed. That right sided attacker in a 3 was perfect for him.

 

[FootballHQ]

Agreed. That right sided attacker in a 3 was perfect for him.

Didn't Arsenal switch to a 4-3-3/5-1 around 2008-9? Van Persie had all those fantastic seasons on his own with likes of Hleb, Walcott and Fabregas all around him so Walcott had plenty of seasons in that formation.

I can remember plenty when he first broke through thinking he was going to be the next Owen (purely for his pace) so guess that was part of the fascination in wanting to convert him into a CF.

 

[Sandikan]

Didn't Arsenal switch to a 4-3-3/5-1 around 2008-9? Van Persie had all those fantastic seasons on his own with likes of Hleb, Walcott and Fabregas all around him so Walcott had plenty of seasons in that formation.

I can remember plenty when he first broke through thinking he was going to be the next Owen (purely for his pace) so guess that was part of the fascination in wanting to convert him into a CF.

It was an interesting idea at first, but to play centrally you have to have some vague sense of being able to hold the ball up every now and again, which he didn't really have.

Such a shame that he didn't get a run out at that first world cup he went to, and it was totally wasted then not taking him to the next one.
Never understood the logic behind that.

And obviously Owen got injured at the first one, and leaving ourselves criminally light up front came home to ruin us.

 

[Gringo]

He was the better version of Scott Sinclair.

 

[SAFMUTD]

He was a hyped youngster that stand up and at young age because of his speed.

Having exceptional attributes as a youngster some times plays against the players own interest, they have it so easy because of their physical attributes that they don’t develop other areas which ultimately ends up turning them into “speed merchant players” that are nothing special.

We have seen this many times with exciting youngsters such as Giovanni Dos Santos, Aaron Lennon, El Sharawy, Fredy Adu, Giovinco, Ryan Babel, Niang and a lo g etc etc

 

[LDUred]

Walcott was always a wonderful, exciting talent. It is a shame to see the way in which his once promising career has fizzled out. He had a lot of ability, electric pace, and an unerring finish.

I don't think Arsenal's possession style of play suited him, to be honest.

He would have done a lot better playing on the right at United. Rooney dropping deep and feeding him the ball would have been a delicious combination.