Theo Walcott’s performance in Arsenal’s Europa League win came in for heavy criticism

Theo Walcott is 28.

He has been at Arsenal since 2006, and a professional footballer for 12 years. For a long time, people spoke about him potentially becoming a very good player. However, there was always a feeling, and a lot of evidence to back it up, that any optimism regarding Walcott's development was misguided. There was the nagging feeling that he was an athlete more than a footballer. Someone who was extremely fast, that somehow ended up as a professional footballer, rather than a footballer who happened to be very fast. He plays with his head down, rushes shots, doesn't have a dependable first-touch and seems to make numerous poor decisions in a game, while also being caught offside a lot. Back in 2010, when Walcott was omitted from England's squad for the World Cup, Chris Waddle said Walcott lacked a "football brain."

"He's had a long time at Arsenal, he's playing with fantastic players, a lot of young players around his age group. He's never nailed his shirt at Arsenal. I've got nothing against the lad. I just think it's no surprise for me he's not on the plane. I look and I just think he doesn't seem to understand the game."

It may seem harsh, but seven years later nothing appears to have changed for Walcott, expect he now is now on the fringes of the Arsenal squad. The winger made his first start of the season for Arsene Wenger's side on Thursday night at the Emirates, and really struggled during the 3-1 win over FC Köln in the Europa League. It was his first start of the season, so maybe he was rusty, but Walcott did little to suggest he could force his way into Arsenal's strongest team. He had fewer touches in 83 minutes than second-half substitute Sead Kolasinac had in 45 minutes. He lost the ball, got caught offside, failed to link up play and drifted on the edges of the game. Arsenal fans and people watching at home weren't impressed. https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/908435914648690688 https://twitter.com/ffarsenalfc/status/908429857771704326 https://twitter.com/ArsenalizeIt/status/908427671243071488 https://twitter.com/FantasyYIRMA/status/908431018297892864 https://twitter.com/_CallMeJanssen/status/908444644261994497 https://twitter.com/ArsenalohoIic/status/908433748240236544 https://twitter.com/XhakMeOff/status/908434382884655104