Gutted for Theo?
Written by Asser Ghozlan on Wednesday, June 2, 2010
To tell you the truth, I'd been half-expecting Theo Walcott's exclusion from England's final World Cup squad all week, and anyone I had spoken to recently will confirm that, including my brother, Samer, who ordered me to "stop being ridiculous" and that "Theo is blatantly on that plane bruv"! All of that, despite starting both warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan (not to mention the match against African champs Egypt back in March), and despite acquitting himself to the task fairly well against Vela and friends at Wembley last Monday.
But, my sneaky feeling was right, sadly enough, despite having counted seven players who could feasibly be below Walcott in the pecking order time and time again.
At first glance, and despite expecting it all week, the news came across as an absolute shock to me, as well as it will have to poor old Theo. Well, not old, but you know what I mean. This was what he has worked so hard for over the past few months, clearly showing improved form, albeit still with the sort of inconsistency that has ultimately cost him his place.
Inconsistency that simply cannot be afforded at this level, the opposite of which has elevated the likes of Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips at the expense of the ex-Southampton boy, ironically both linked with Arsenal moves this summer, particularly the former in recent times. Watching both Cole and Wright-Phillips come on to such effect in Austria was probably the final nail in Theo's World Cup coffin. So close but yet so far in that had one of the two under-performed, our only English hope would have been in, and so in that respect, I highly doubt that Fabio Capello was telling the whole truth in claiming that no one had forced his way into the squad on the back of the two warm-up contests. Then again, the way I see it, Joe Cole was always in the party, for his experience, technique and as the only viable option on the left if needed, and so it was a straight knockout between Wright-Phillips and Walcott. And Walcott was floored.
Now, Theo Walcott is the sort of Arsenal player who brings out the most in terms of mixed views amongst us Arsenal supporters; admittedly one of several over the past few years. But he stands out in that category due to the raucous hype that he was subjected to right from the very first moment he turned professional at 16, including that bizarre World Cup inclusion in 2006. Back then, both; Sven Goran-Eriksson and Arsène Wenger had asserted that such an experience would only be good for Theo's future career, even if he did not kick a ball in Germany, which, of course he didn't. Well, what a disaster of judgement that was eh, Mr. Eriksson?! The Swede must now surely shoulder some of the blame today as he puts the likes of Drogba and the Touré brothers through their paces. Not that he will, what with his reported £2 million three-month contract with the Ivory Coast!
Walcott is a fine young talent, whose subjection to the spotlight and unfair expectations from a very early age, have not done him any good whatsoever. And, if we search closely for an underlying cause for his final rejection from South Africa 2010, then look no further than the aforementioned 2006 stunt, made all the more damaging by Walcott's expectation that if he was good enough for 2006, then he was definitely good enough for 2010.
Of course, I am not saying that Walcott definitely deserves to be in the World Cup, having alluded to the frustration that we sometimes have to endure whilst watching him sprint down that right flank at the Emirates to no real effect. But as a Gooner, and a vociferously hardcore one at that, it is only fair to expect that I back our players on the international stage, especially when they are few and far between in the England camp in the first place! And Theo Walcott's rejection was more a consequence of bad luck than it was inconsistency.
It is easy to forget how much harm injury can cause to a football player, especially one who relies on sheer speed and acceleration over a few yards as Theo Walcott does. Now, whilst one or two injuries were simply unlucky, and I'm talking shoulder here, Walcott's series of niggling injuries earlier in the season, kicked off by his back pain, were all sparked off and sustained by England duty. England under-21 duty, and with Stuart Pearce really doing his "Psycho" nickname tag justice in thinking that Walcott could possibly play for two national sides at once without any harm, you would've thought that a bit of loyalty was due from the England set-up, especially with Capello having shown no objection to the notion back then. But, we can piss in the wind if we are looking for loyalty from employers in the real world nowadays, I suppose, another harsh lesson for Theo, having obliged so naively back in June.
Theo's exclusion, and before that, Samir Nasri with France, had come as two hard kicks in the nuts for Arsenal. They are not part of the elite crop, as they had expected or hoped to be, and certainly as their Club manager had been confident all along. As they sit and watch their countrymen do battle along with the rest of us on television, I sincerely hope that both lads really do so with a bit of extra reflection and objective assessment than the rest of us.
Both are quality players, but are not quite the finished article. They are not the sort of animal that can be relied upon when the going gets tough, and when results are needed by hook or by crook, not just yet. That is the message behind why they will not be on their respective planes to South Africa. And, as supposedly intelligent players, and with age very much on their side, as well as being under the tutelage of one of the best man-managers in the business in Arsène Wenger, you can bet on seeing a very different Samir Nasri and a very different Theo Walcott next season. Only then, will they take the world of football by storm.
And that can only be good for Arsenal.
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