Could this be Walcott's best season?

The memory of a football fan is a mysterious thing: selective, biased, non-partisan, partisan, poor and excellent at the same time. No Arsenal player better highlights this than Theo Walcott. His 10 years at the club has been blotted by injury however his stats stand strong. By and large, once considered a full senior player he always delivered the goods when fit. Due to the unique recall ability of football supporters you'll find many will disagree with that sentiment, especially when you consider Theo's poor season by his own admission last season.

Theo of 2016/17 seems an entirely different player and one that might enlcourahe a few Arsenal fans to bet for just £5 on Theo having a season worthy of forgetting the worst of him. Since reverting back to the right wing this season Walcott has scored three goals in six games. Once maligned for his defensive contributions, or lack thereof, Theo has complemented his famed speed, movement and finishing with commendable effort in defence.

Arsenal supporters appreciate hard-work as much as talent and flair so Walcott's renewed and enhanced sense of defensive responsibility is earning him plaudits as one of Arsenal's top performers. So what is down to this change in Theo?

Speaking to Arsenal.com Theo said:

"I've worked hard from the back end of last season and I've just continued to do that throughout the whole summer. I spoke to many people and it maybe woke up something in my system, I don't know. I am completely different. I just want to be better and better, people have had so much faith in me and I tend to think I need to repay people. But I also think I need to do it for myself now. Maybe in the past I was thinking about others and not myself, [but now I want to] get that balance right, to switch back and forth about when to do the right thing. At the moment things are great, I am enjoying life and enjoying football. There are always ups and downs, I have been through many of them but for now it is going well."

This is a welcomed new mentality from Theo who has always been a statistically effective offensive player. Should he keep it up he may well end his Arsenal career as the player he started it promising to be.

Could this be Theo's best season? He has a lot of work to do to match his stats from 2010-2013 but so far it's looking like his most balanced season and that can only benefit Arsenal.

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