The Sunday Supplement panel have argued that Arsenal and Theo Walcott are moving closer towards a ‘natural break’ and believe it might be the right decision to leave.
The 27-year-old has scored just nine goals and provided seven assists in 38 appearances in all competitions so far this season, as he has struggled with injuries and form.
Coupled with the fact that he isn’t guaranteed a spot in his preferred position as a central striker, criticism and scrutiny of Walcott has been growing and questions have been raised about how long he can stay at the Emirates for.
With manager Arsene Wenger also facing more critics this season with a lack of silverware, the pressure could well be on the Frenchman to make changes to his squad this summer in order to turn the tide.
“It does feel like it might be a natural break between club and player,” The Guardian’s Dominic Fifield told the Sunday Supplement.
“It’s not good at the moment, it’s almost as if he’s in limbo at the moment. He’s not going to get into the team as a central striker every week for Arsene Wenger and it that’s where he wants to be playing his future isn’t at Arsenal.”
Meanwhile, The Telegraph’s Jason Burt echoed those thoughts, and believes that Walcott’s future could be inter-linked with one of his teammates.
“Arsenal would be more willing to sell [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain but they don’t want to lose both of them this summer,” Burt said.
“If Walcott doesn’t make the Euro squad, he has got to look at that and think, ‘That’s probably the moment for me. My career is stalling.’ If he wants to progress, he needs to look at it in terms of where he needs to be.”
Since arriving at the club in 2006, Walcott has only got into double scoring figures in the Premier League in one campaign, and a player with his abilities and talent is undoubtedly capable of more.
Whether it’s his or Arsenal’s fault, perhaps a move elsewhere will bring the best out of him but also give him the right platform and surroundings to do so.
Wenger faces some difficult decisions this summer, and Walcott’s future could be one of them but much depends if there is still interest in the forward from around Europe.