Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed that Theo Walcott is one of the best players in the world…
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s North London derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger raised eyebrows by claiming that Theo Walcott was one of the best players in the world.
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Prior to Saturday’s game the 25-year-old, who is still in the process of recovering from a long-term injury lay-off, had played 288 games for the Emirates Stadium club, scoring 71 goals across a near ten year spell in the English capital – hardly Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo form.
However, Wenger was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying: “Theo’s first quality is the quality of his reception. The timing of his runs, and the area of where he gets the ball.
“The timing and the movement is absolutely exceptional – one of the best in the world, with the timing of his movement and where he goes. When I say quality of receptions, it’s the area where he will get the ball.
“In that, he is certainly top, top, top, because he has the pace behind it as well. I think he is not completely there yet. It’s normal because he’s been out for a year but you can see week after week, he gets better.”
In the list below we rank the ten most overrated Premier League players. Click through the list below to see where we rank Walcott:
10) Tim Howard (Everton)
Howard’s performances for the USA at last summer’s World Cup had pundit ranking him among the best goalkeepers in the world. However, his supporters have been left disappointed this season, as several costly mistakes saw Everton drop down the table.
9) Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur)
Tottenham’s record signing has made a slow start to life at White Hart Lane, with just one Premier League goal in his first 18 months in North London. He’s shown flashes of brilliance but needs to do more to justify his price tag.
8) Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Walcott has never been poor, but after a decade at the club Arsenal fans are arguably still waiting to see him deliver on his enormous potential. Walcott joined the Gunners from Southampton as a teenager and will be hoping to hit form after returning from his latest injury.
7) Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
The United and England defender is another player who’s failed to develop as his club might have hoped. He has been exposed since the departures of several senior defenders from Old Trafford and has failed to fill the void.
6) Joe Hart (Manchester City)
The City and England goalkeeper has had several shaky spells of form during his time with the Premier League champions. In the past, he’s been dropped in favour of Costel Pantilimon and Willie Caballero, with his consistency essentially letting him down.
5) Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
The powerful Villa forward hit the ground running when he first arrived at the club, but his stock has dramatically declined since a long-term injury which he is still struggling to recover from. He has been wasteful so far this season, not helping Villa’s plight as they battle against relegation.
4) Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
It’s been 18 months since Ozil arrived at Arsenal in a club record £40m deal. The Gunners are still waiting to see the best of the German midfielder, who endured a disappointing first season and an injury-hit start to his second season. Now he’s back, he’ll be hoping to quickly turn that around.
3) Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
The 21-year-old has a huge amount of potential, but Everton were arguably guilty of getting caught up in the success of the player’s loan spell when they paid Chelsea £28m for him on a permanent basis. Only ten goals in 31 games have followed this season, not a great return for a player with that price tag.
2) Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
Fellaini has become a glamorised target man this season under Louis van Gaal, a battering ram regularly thrown in to have balls lumped up to him when United need a goal. His near £30m move summed up David Moyes’ short-lived reign at Old Trafford.
1) Mario Balotelli (Liverpool)
The controversial Italian striker is still waiting for his first Premier League goal for Liverpool. He has shown in a Manchester City, AC Milan and Italy shirt that he has quality, but whether the Anfield faithful will ever see it still very much remains to be seen.
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