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Wenger and Capello are both culpable for ruining Walcott

Theo will never be a right winger, now he’s paid the price

Regular readers of The Gooner and the Online Gooner will know that I have said many times - in fact many many many many many times - that Theo Walcott is not a right winger, never will be and is being ruined for club and country. Theo’s omission from England’s World Cup squad is an appalling indictment of how badly he has been mismanaged by both Arsene Wenger and Fabio Capello.

Walcott is a young Thierry Henry and needs to be played in the Henry role, just to the left of attack. He too is an inside-left/striker, with the pace to deliver the trademark right-footed finish across the goalkeeper. Henry was wasted as a right winger at Juventus before Arsenal stepped in. If a move to the left for Henry had been suggested at the time many observers may have thought it wouldn’t work. It certainly did though, once he came to Arsenal.

Theo needs the same role and the same switch. I have been saying this for so long. I cannot believe that Wenger and then Capello have persisted with Walcott as a right winger to the point where he doesn’t even make the World Cup, because he is a crap right winger. To be a class winger you need to be able to cross the ball, you need to be a natural at it. The art of crossing a ball cannot be taught, there are too many factors involved. You either ‘feel’ a cross or you don’t and Theo clearly doesn’t feel it.

I can't argue with Capello’s squad. Capello likes disciplined players who deliver, not sloppy ones who don't. So I fancied that Stephen Warnock would go, rather than Leighton Baines. I fancied that Theo would miss out to Shaun Wright-Philips, because he can cross very well and England will need their right-winger to cross for Peter Crouch’s head. Wayne Rooney improved his goal tally last season because he linked so well with his right winger, Valencia. SWP can service that too.

If Theo Walcott had been played consistently off the left like Henry Arsenal and England would have seen the real Theo Walcott by now. Sadly I fear we never will. What a waste.

By the way, you can now follow me on Twitter, at http://twitter.com/thatsimonrose.

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Posted 7th Jun 2010