” What are we going to see from Theo Walcott in the second half?”, the Arsenal TV commentator asked as the winger received the ball by the touchline. Head down, ball at his feet, Walcott cut in and set off on his surge towards goal. A surge that alas, lasted two touches. ” Tripping over his own feet, by the looks of it”, his co-commentator offered sarcastically as Walcott fell to the floor. The follow up quip at the tip of his tongue dramatically morphed into a high pitched shriek by the time it escaped into utterance. Walcott had arisen. In the blink of an eye, he skipped past Ivanovic and Terry, before smashing the ball into the bottom corner. ” What are we going to see from Theo Walcott!“, the first commentator bellowed as Walcott ran towards the red end of Stamford Bridge.
It’s a goal that typified Walcott. Comically clumsy at his worst, a lighting bolt as his best. It’s this duality that has confused fans, opponents and managers and has clouded their perception of him. It’s a duality that has tormented Walcott his entire career.
ACT 1: AWAKENING
Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal as a 16 year old in January 2006, after 21 appearances and 4 goals for Southampton in the Championship. Five months on, he was named in Sven-Goran Erikson’s 23 man squad for the World Cup after making precisely zero appearances for Arsenal.