Departing Walcott a symbol of Arsenal's failed British core
When Theo Walcott's time at Arsenal ended Wednesday, it closed the book on an unfulfilled generation that faced unreasonable expectations.
Even before Brexit again made quotas in the Premier League a fashionable topic, and before then-FA chief Greg Dyke's gripes and subsequent threats over the failures of developing homegrown players, Arsenal built a British core contrary to routine.
It’s not like there was a dearth of influential British talent. As the Premier League entered its third decade, Chelsea had just won three titles in six years under the guidance of John Terry and Frank Lampard, while Manchester United stuffed the trophy case under the watch of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, and Paul Scholes. For Arsenal, though, things worked differently.
Fluid football was tethered to a continental elan and Arsene Wenger's stellar record of signing foreign players. The successes of the Invincibles era became a symbol of the Premier League's growth into an international employer. Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord, Robert Pires, and Patrick Vieira - all French - were the engine for an at times unplayable squad that also featured the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Freddie Ljungberg, Gilberto Silva, Kolo Toure, and Lauren. It was everything the tough-tackling, mud-on-your-kit, "1-0 to the Arsenal" football of George Graham and prior generations was not. It all came to a head on Valentine's Day 2005, when Arsenal became the first English side to name an entirely foreign squad, and thumped Crystal Palace 5-1. Circumstances would soon change.
The image of a beaming Wenger standing behind a quintet of British players putting pen to paper on long-term deals is forever etched in the minds of Gooners. It's December 2012, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, and Carl Jenkinson have agreed to fresh terms as Arsenal appears set to usher in a new era.
That British core was supposed to be spearheaded by Theo Walcott.
Walcott arrived at Arsenal in 2006 and shortly thereafter agreed to senior terms on his 17th birthday. He made his league debut the next season before becoming Arsenal’s youngest to play in a European fixture in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb (marking the club’s first victory at the Emirates Stadium). Before making his Arsenal debut, Walcott was tabbed for international greatness, and was called up to Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad for the 2006 World Cup with just 13 appearances for second-tier Southampton under his belt. He eventually became England's youngest-ever debutant in a May 2006 friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford. Miraculously, Walcott has yet to play a minute in the World Cup.
Unfairly likened by Wenger to club legend Henry, Walcott's staggering pace was his trademark skill. Then-Barcelona gaffer Pep Guardiola said, "You would need a pistol to stop him." More than simply a sprinter, Walcott developed his talents as his 20s beckoned, first honing his crossing skills amid doubts from critics before refining his finishing. A career-best 14-goal league haul during the 2012-13 campaign followed, including one of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt.
Starting against Newcastle as the team's lone striker, the fleet-footed forward's movement was scintillating, and his finishing was spot-on. Walcott registered a maiden Premier League hat-trick, with the third goal rivalling Olivier Giroud’s Scorpion as one of the greatest scored to date at the Emirates. When at his best, Walcott was one of the most captivating players to watch in England.
Walcott had been lobbying to become the Gunners' new No. 9 as part of contract negotiations on an improved deal, and cries of "Sign Da Ting" could be heard at the Emirates. Weeks after the Newcastle match, Walcott obliged.
It wasn't to be for a player better suited in a wide position, and the contract and its wage package would prove to be a curse for Walcott. Injuries and inactivity contributed as well, and when paired with criticism for making a reported £140K a week - a decent amount considering Arsenal’s notoriously modest spending habits when compared to fellow Premier League heavy hitters - Walcott's Arsenal tenure entered a gradual decline.
One of 19 players to score 100 goals for Arsenal, Walcott had two standout spells in 2012-13 and 2016-17 bookended by injuries. When judging Walcott's Arsenal tenure, it's hard not to lament just how few and far between performances like the one against Newcastle were, and regret the periodically toxic loathing from a section of supporters. Injuries played a big part, and so too did an inconsistency that has stalled the player's progression. The stagnant latter stages of Wenger's regime haven't helped either.
What were the expectations for Walcott and Arsenal’s British core, and were they fair? Succeeding the Invincibles side was an impossible task, as was indefinitely continuing Wenger's string of successes in developing previously unearthed talent and ushering them towards stardom. Walcott was never going to be Henry, and Wilshere, even for all his admirable graft, will never rise to the level of Vieira.
Walcott is now gone. Gibbs and Oxlade-Chamberlain left last summer after failing to reach their potential. Jenkinson - and fellow English hope Cohen Bramall - went to Birmingham City on loan and got hurt. Wilshere and Ramsey remain despite contract uncertainties, and somewhat shockingly, have each been the club's best player during different spells this season. The British core - like Arsenal - has underwhelmed, with plodding individual progression mirroring the club's missteps in challenging for major honours.
A new wave has arrived. Calum Chambers and Rob Holding swap worrying outings like a hot potato as Danny Welbeck continues a habit of scoring sporadically by accident. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is so composed it's droll, and Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Matt Macey, and Joe Willock have all shown flashes. Covering the spectrum from dazzling to disappointing and all points in between, English players continue to play a part in Arsenal’s mercurial successes, but that specific generation - the one from the photo, the one Walcott was intended to lead - is done.
Perhaps the most fitting image of Walcott's time with Arsenal is not the obscene hat-trick-capping solo goal against Newcastle, the display off the bench against Barcelona, or the three-man riot pillaging with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil against Manchester United. Instead, it's Walcott being stretchered off amid abuse and a shower of coins from a pocket of Tottenham supporters. With a cocked grin and flashing the two-nil scoreline against the most hated of foes, Walcott was in the moment adored by Arsenal supporters in the face of a long-term injury layoff and World Cup absence. It doesn't get much more archetypal than that.
After 12 years and more than 100 goals, Theo Walcott has turned the page on his Arsenal career. Perhaps it's more worthwhile to celebrate the player he was rather than bemoan his failure to become the player he was expected to be.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)