Playing for 90
Fansided

Theo Walcott is in the best form of his career

By Jocelyn Taub

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 15: Theo Walcott of Arsenal celebrates scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Swansea City at Emirates Stadium on October 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 15: Theo Walcott of Arsenal celebrates scoring his sides second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Swansea City at Emirates Stadium on October 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Theo Walcott has come in to the new Premier League season with a new attitude and work rate. He is looking like a rejuvenated player on the pitch.

Last April The Mirror ran a story claiming that Theo Walcott was ready to leave Arsenal. It claimed that the forward was fed up at his lack of playing time and would seek first team football elsewhere.

Adding to Walcott’s frustration was the fact that he was not named to the English National team for Euro 2016. Since Walcott spent a significant amount of time on Arsenal’s substitute bench rather than the pitch, he was passed over by then England manager Rod Hodgson.

It’s now six months later and it appears that Walcott’s fortunes have turned around.

Instead of heading for the Arsenal exit door, Walcott held talks with manager Arsene Wenger. The forward wanted to know where he fit in to the manager’s plans moving forward. It’s obvious that this meeting went well. Walcott used his summer break to make positive changes in preparation for the new season.

Walcott joined forces with personal trainer Bradley Simmonds to work on improving his fitness and strength. Previous Simmonds clients include John Terry and Brendan Rodgers.

It appears that Walcott’s hard work has paid off. He has scored five goals in Arsenal’s first eight matches. Five is the number of goals that he scored in total in each of the last three full campaigns.

Over the weekend Walcott scored Arsenal’s first two goals in his team’s 3-2 victory over Swansea. He was actually unlucky not to have achieved a hat trick as a couple of his shots bounced off of the wood work.

Walcott attributes his turn around in part to a change in his attitude. In the past he would blame his manager and his club for his lack of playing time. After his meeting with Wenger at the end of last season, Walcott realized that it was he himself that needed to take responsibility.

It was then that he signed up with Simmonds. In addition to daily training, Walcott changed his diet. He also met with Arsenal’s team psychologist David Priestly to help him mentally prepare for matches.

More from Playing for 90

Walcott is now in the best form of his career. His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Following Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea Wenger said, “I said many times at the start of the season that we would see a different Theo Walcott. I could see he made a decision and sticks to it.”

Walcott has also worked on improving the defensive side of his game. He already has more tackles this season (14) than he did in all of last year.

Wenger commented on Walcott’s improved work rate:

"I think he used to be 90 per cent forward and 10 per cent defending. Today he is 50-50. He does the job both ways and he does it both ways with commitment. And I always felt there is character and intelligence in this boy. He is a guy with a good assessment of his performances and qualities."

The hope now is that Walcott will remain injury free. The forward is in a position to have the best season of his career.

Home/Arsenal FC