Should Arsenal sell Theo Walcott or give him space to fulfill his full potential?

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is currently on the club’s injury list after suffering a dead leg in England training and missed out on England’s international friendly against Holland and there are fears the he may miss out on Arsenal’s game against Watford on Saturday.

Back at the Emirates, the forward is currently struggling to get his goal scoring form back and everything seems to be falling out of place for him. Besides, there has been a lot of rumors telling that Walcott may be leaving the north London club any time soon. Fortunately or unfortunately, there has been other suggestions that Arsenal can do better without him and because of his large wage, he should be sold to make room for a new forward.

Evidently, there are enough reasons for any person to conclude that Walcott is indeed running the risk of going down a very similar route to his compatriot, Oxlade-Chamberlin, who has indeed lost taste of his game. That’s not to propose for a moment that Walcott is not a good player, He’s better than good – he’s excellent. Walcott has been on the books of Arsenal since January 2006 when he joined them from Southampton.

In 2012/13 he was one of Arsenal’s best players of the season, despite several cases of customary injuries. He netted 21 goals in 43 appearances during the 2012-13 campaign, and it seemed he was just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.

However, since then he hasn’t managed to make himself expendable in the way might expect. Walcott’s best position is clearly as a right winger, but in the recent past couple of years he has struggled to transform into a center forward. Intriguingly, the 27-year-ol has spent a better part of this season playing as a center forward, where he has been somewhat good.

His ability to play out wide has been a hindrance to his ambitions of playing in his favored position up front, at Arsenal. But that could work in his favor if he can “leave” the club. Besides, this cannot work in his favor with England, with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane available for the upfront position.

And it seems Walcott’s great desire to be absorbed as a center forward has indeed killed his spirit to play on the right wing and it has deeply costed the Gunners. Arsenal’s lack of goals has been disturbing this season and has without doubt played a big role in their latest title stumble. And many fans have been made to believe the main reason for the club’s lack of goals this season is that some of the attacking players are simply not good enough, especially Walcott.

Up until now, Walcott has netted 4 goals in 22 Premier League appearances, Giroud has netted 12 goals in 30 Premier League appearances, Joel Campbell has netted 3 goals in 16 Premier League appearances, Sanchez 7 goals in 22 Premier League appearances as well Welbeck takes a good record of 3 goals in 5 Premier League appearances. From the above stats, Arsenal are required to find a proper solution to address the problems facing their goal shy squad.

According to analysis, Arsenal should either use the transfer market as a solution to off load players like Walcott by perhaps selling him or just give him space to improve. At 27, there’s still time for Walcott to fulfil his potential.

And speaking of giving him space to fulfill his potential, should Wenger change his formation and use two attackers upfront? Should he be sent on loan for enough playtime as a center forward? Well, the solution to this perhaps may be laying on what Wenger will is thinking about Walcott. And with the return of Welbeck, who has shown spectacular performance, Wenger has to play his cards right.

Besides, Arsenal have been linked with several strikers who have great goal scoring skills that could perhaps help the Gunners reclaim their glory by winning enough titles.

If such a forward can be found, then perhaps Walcott’s future should be considered. This upcoming transfer window is the time that Wenger will have to be hard-nosed if he is to win back the faith of the Gooners, and selling a major star or two of that process – on condition that they are appropriately replaced. Walcott’s reputation and talent ensure that he would command a huge transfer fee and Arsenal could potentially use that money to acquire a world class talent more suited to improve the Gunner’s attacking squad.