The time might be right for Theo Walcott to leave Arsenal and try his luck elsewhere.

The forward has plenty of pace and has been known to get a few valuable goals for the Gunners during his time at the Emirates but it would be wrong to say that he’s reached his full potential at the London club.

This term the twenty-eight year old has only made three substitute appearances in the Premier League. He’s made six starts in the cup competitions (League Cup & Europa League) and he has a three goal return in those games.

Unfortunately for the Englishman he seems to be behind Alexandre Lacazette, Oliver Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez in the pecking order to start in the advanced areas. Walcott wasn’t even in the squad that was picked to face Manchester United in the weekend.

It’s now being reported that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is willing to let Walcott go, as long as a fee can be agreed with another club. The media have suggested that both West Ham United and Southampton could be interested in Theo’s signature.

Everton have also been linked with the striker and I’d say a move to the Merseyside club could be Walcott’s best destination.

Sam Allardyce has just arrived at Goodison Park and already things have improved for the Toffees.

The new manager has stated that one of his first main tasks is to replace the goals that Everton have missed since selling hitman Romelu Lukaku to Man United for £75m in the summer.

One major thing missing in the Toffees front-line this term has been pace.

Youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been moved from the wing to give the side more speed in attack but I’m not sure he can carry the pressure of grabbing the majority of the club’s goals when they need to steer clear of relegation troubles this term.

People have suggested that the Toffees could recall summer buy Henry Onyekuru from his loan spell at Anderlecht. In the Champions League, Henry has been used more as a left winger, so again I doubt Allardyce would want to bring him in at this stage and use him as his main striking threat. Yes he is scoring in the Jupiler League but not in Europe and that suggests he’s better off staying in Belgium for the rest of the campaign.

In signing Walcott, Big Sam would be getting an experienced Premier League footballer. The forward has made more than 200 top flight appearances and scoring over sixty goals. He’d arrived determined to prove himself and show everyone that he’s an attacker who can score regularly as long as he plays.

The former Southampton man has also picked up forty-seven international caps, scoring eight goals. He has also bagged himself three FA Cup winners medals during his spell in the nation’s capital.

It should be noted that Sam recalled Theo into the England set-up for the one and only game Allardyce was in charge of the Three Lions. When he needed a goal, it was Walcott who he turned to and the lively frontman helped as England ended up with the victory.

Why Everton and not the other two sides? 

Well I think momentum at Everton has changed for the better, the same can’t be said at West Ham under David Moyes (Not yet anyway). Things seem a bit stale at Southampton and it’s not always great to go back to a former club.

The Toffees will probably offer both Arsenal and the player a better deal financially. They spent big in the summer and they will probably do the same under Big Sam.

Plus in Allardyce, Walcott already knows that particular manager appreciates his style. Look at the way the Everton boss got the best out of Jermain Defoe at Sunderland, he could possibly do the same with Theo if he ended up at Goodison.

The Merseyside Blues also need a pacy centre forward, with Wayne Rooney or/and Gylfi Sigurdsson playing in behind them. I can see Theo Walcott flourishing in the role, getting on the end of through balls and sticking away chances. His electrifying speed would also give Everton an added edge in counter attack situations.

It’s time the twenty-eight year old stood up and stated his intentions to play through the middle as a striker. He has the qualities to do well in the role and he now needs to get away from North London and prove himself.

If he joins The Toffees and gets amongst the goals then he’ll give current England boss Gareth Southgate food for thought ahead of next summer’s World Cup. I doubt he’ll get that chance under Wenger at Arsenal… So why stay? 

Posted on December 6th, 2017 by scott
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