Arsenal will welcome back their resident speed merchant tomorrow against QPR. Theo Walcott will be looking to stay fit this time around having suffered a setback in recent weeks. He made his long awaited return from that knee injury last month against Burnley. He came on again as sub against Swansea a few days later but suffered a setback and hasn’t featured since.

He returned to training last week and was unused substitute against Liverpool with Wenger saying he lacks full fitness and competition. He has had another full week of training in which he came through unscathed and is in the squad tomorrow. Arsenal has missed his pace and direct running and will be thrilled to have him back in the side. I think I speak for all gooners when I say I am excited to have Theo back in the squad and think he can provide the spark needed for Arsenal to push on.

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 Pace, pace, and more pace

Welbeck is quick, Chamberlain is quicker, Walcott is the definition of quick. Never have I seen a winger so fleet footed with my own two eyes. There is no marking him. You simply cannot account for that kind of pace when you are making tactical decisions (for opposition that is) and his presence alone make Arsenal’s dangerous as no fullback in their right mind will get too close. His pace will stretch backlines even further than now and open all kinds of space. This of course makes Arsenal that much more dangerous on the counter as well.

 Finishing

How quickly we forget Walcott was our leading scorer two seasons ago with 14 Premier League goals. He was second only to Cazorla in assists as well with 10 and it would have been more if not for his injury. Finishing is a part of his game that he has really improved on in recent years and has turned up with goals from everywhere. Right foot, left foot, it doesn’t matter for Theo and he even manages to get a head to a few despite his stature.

 Crossing and passing ability

Walcott is a specialist in creating goals as well as scoring and has excellent crossing ability. He will chip in with plenty of assists from crosses and lay off. When you are that quick, you often find yourself in plenty of space from which to pick out a cross or a pass. Often times he picks the right option and puts the ball on a plate for somebody to tap in. Arsenal is all the more dangerous with Walcott in the side.

 Width

Walcott loves to hug the touchline which naturally stretches sides. He of course likes to cut inside and interchange with his forwards but for the most part Walcott lines up out wide which forces fullbacks toward him. With the backline having to stretch cut out crosses, it opens up a lot more space for forwards and midfielders to roam into.

 Defensive cover

Defense is not Walcott’s strong point by any stretch of the imagination, but he does use his pace to track runners on the opposite end. He doesn’t mind working back on defense to help his defenders and with Theo back there disrupting things, it will help the likes of Debuchy and Flamini.