First he was angry with Arsene Wenger, then he blamed Arsenal and, finally, Theo Walcott realised it was him who needed to change if he was going to escape a vicious circle that threatened to become the story of his career.
Walcott had become stuck in a cycle that went something like this – injury, comeback, promising return, tail off, get dropped or injured and repeat. But working his way out of his comfort zone has seen the 27-year-old win back his Arsenal place and put himself in contention for a first England start in 12 months against Malta on Saturday.
It was a combination of being dropped for Arsenal’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona at the Emirates in February and the realisation of how he was viewed within the club after last season’s defeat to Manchester United that prompted Walcott to look in the mirror.
Walcott was dreadful against Manchester United in February
Walcott had been dragged off after 63 minutes at Old Trafford and was not surprised to find out that Arsenal chiefs were unimpressed with his performance against United.
But Walcott was shocked to find out that it was actually the home victory over United last October, in which he was excellent, that had angered senior staff members more.
The forward discovered that manager Arsene Wenger and his staff felt the fact that Walcott could be so good against United in one game only to be completely ineffective in another summed him up. He was told he could be one of the best forwards in Europe, or continue to blow hot and cold.
Walcott
Walcott did not make England's Euro 2016 squad
Before that point, Walcott had been as down as friends and family had ever seen him, even through all the injuries and tournament disappointments, but had decided the fault lay with Wenger and Arsenal, rather than himself.
But finding out exactly what Arsenal thought about him altered Walcott’s view of what was wrong and he came to the instant conclusion that he needed to change. He quickly arranged a meeting with Wenger in which he told the Frenchman that from that moment on he would see a new Theo Walcott.
A family man who does not drink, gamble or spend time in nightclubs, it was not a case of Walcott having to cut things out. It was more a case of what more he could do.
Life at Arsenal is very comfortable for a young player, as Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Calum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs have also found out, but Walcott realised that he must take responsibility for himself.
Arsenal
Many Arsenal youngsters have not yet fulfilled their potential
The first step was to start going back out on to the pitch to run after games, having calculated that while he was on the bench, he had been doing very little for the best part of four days around matchday.
His aim was and still is simple – to be the hardest working player at Arsenal. The new Walcott decided to go to the training ground on each of his days off, which he has continued to do this season. Whether it be working in the gym, having a massage or running on one of the pitches, his is determined to remain focussed and in the best possible condition.
Away from the club, Walcott started to work with personal trainer Bradley Simmonds once a week and changed his diet to take in more protein, less coffee and no snacks.
It was not just his body Walcott concentrated on, as he now has weekly meetings with the Arsenal psychologist David Priestly to help him to prepare for games.
The first real sign of encouragement that Walcott’s work was paying off was when he made an impressive substitutes’ appearance in the draw with Manchester City in May, but it came too late to earn him a place in England’s Euro 2016 squad.
Not for the first time in his career, Walcott was widely written off by fans of club and country but his Euro 2016 omission gave him all summer to throw himself into his new regime – some of which he documented on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The results have been evident so far this season, as Walcott has already scored five goals in all competitions and earned the praise of Wenger after Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea with the Frenchman saying: “He used to be 90 per cent forward and 10 per cent defending. Today he is 50-50.”
To illustrate Wenger’s words, Walcott has already made 14 tackles in seven Premier League games this season – three more than in his 28 appearances over the entirety of last term.
Six appearances short of winning his 50th England cap, Walcott’s next challenge is to prove he can still make an impact at international level after fighting his way back into the squad under Sam Allardyce and now Gareth Southgate. He won’t fail for a lack of effort.
Source: telegraph
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