The Bloody Cannon: A Beginner’s Guide to the players of Arsenal F.C. - Theo Walcott

This is the second installment in a series of Arsenal Football Club player profiles that I am creating. The articles are aimed at fans who are either new to the Gooners or new to the game. Read, comment, compliment, ridicule, enjoy.

This Arsenal Academy graduate, and former Southhampton product, signed for Arsenal on January 20th, 2006, just months shy of his seventeenth birthday. A prodigy from the very beginning, Walcott won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2006 the same year he joined the Gunners. Ten years later, he can still be considered a player with immense potential. While other footballers make their supporters salivate over goals, assists, and creativity; it is that dazzling pace which ignites the fifty odd Arsenal faithful at the Emirates each week. Reminiscent of Marc Albrighton at Aston Villa or Nathan Dyer at Swansea City; Walcott's impact at Arsenal has been almost as influential. BBC pundit Pat Nevin recently stated that Theo Walcott might be the "perfect striker" for Arsenal and he has a point. Walcott has all of the qualities of a decent winger, so why wouldn't he excel in a more central role? Look for Walcott to turn on cruise control and cooly put up thirty goals (at least) for the Gunners this season.

Wenger Quote: "After a decade's worth of service, I finally figured out how to harness Theo Walcott's talent. The team needs a center forward and Theo needs a place in the team. Et voilà, Theo is our man."