Walcott's teenage revival makes case for starting role
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Saturday, 22 March 2008
Theo Walcott turned 19 on Sunday, although, since he joined Arsenal two years ago, his age has been virtually inconsequential in relation to the enormous expectations stacked up against him. But now that he is back in the England squad and among the goals against Birmingham City, will Arsène Wenger give him his first start in a big game, against Chelsea tomorrow?
It is the problem that consumes Wenger's team selection for tomorrow: pick Emmanuel Eboué, whose temper let him down against Chelsea in December, or throw in Walcott, the teenager whose performances of late say that he is ready. The conservative option is Eboué but, then, Arsenal have not arrived at this point in their season because Wenger has a habit of playing it safe.
No big parties to mark Walcott's 19th birthday and, mercifully, no more of those glossy magazine spreads recently. His substitute's performance against Middlesbrough last Saturday marked his 61st appearance for Arsenal, a statistic that – in the context of the careers of other Arsenal teenagers – is actually quite remarkable.
Ashley Cole played once for Arsenal before his 19th birthday; Nicolas Anelka played 31 times for Arsenal before he was 19 and only Cesc Fabregas, with 96 appearances for the club before he turned 19 in May 2006, can lay claim to more. But, then, what teenage footballer in the world bears comparison with Fabregas? Even Cristiano Ronaldo had only played 22 games for Manchester United before he turned 19 in February 2004.
Unfortunately for Walcott, he plays on with the burden of having been selected for the 2006 England World Cup squad that altered the perception of him in the national consciousness overnight. For 19, his progress is not bad at all but from those who, during a few mad months in 2006, believed he was about to win England the World Cup the judgement is very different.
Yesterday, Wenger gave the slightest of hints that Walcott was in contention to start tomorrow. "I am very pleased with Theo. He had a very easy start, with the red carpet. Then he got knocked out again but now he has come back very firmly and that is on merit," Wenger said. "He is on his way up again and very soon he will be a major player at this club. It is a big decision on whether to start him but that is part of this being a big game. Although you don't expect me to say whether I will."
Still, just one defeat in the Premier League for Arsenal – against Middlesbrough in December – and Wenger said that if that record endured until the end of the season he believed that his team would be champions. "If we win our big games and if we continue to be consistent then I am sure we will finish in front of the other sides," he said. "I cannot imagine we will lose the league if we have lost only one game at the end of the season.
"I feel that since the beginning of the season we have been the most consistent team. We have lost just one game, and that was under very special circumstances. That consistency will come out for good at the end of the season."
