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3 reasons Theo Walcott could shine at Southampton

| 04.01.2018
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Arsenal forward is linked with a return to his first club

As Arsenal pushed for a late equaliser in the closing stages of their thrilling clash with Chelsea on Wednesday evening, Arsene Wenger did something unexpected. He turned to Theo Walcott.

Walcott has almost been the forgotten man when it comes to the Premier League this season. He’s only made five substitute appearances in the top flight, totalling less than an hour of playing time.

It seems like his time at the Emirates is coming to an end. And he could be on the verge of a return to Southampton.

Saints have plenty of cash to spend following the £75m sale of Virigl van Dijk to Liverpool.

And the Coral News Team have looked at why Walcott could be a great signing for the South Coast club.

Added Firepower

Southampton are currently 17th and only goal difference is keeping them out of the bottom three.

One of their biggest issues is a lack of goals. They’ve scored just 21 goals in 22 league games this term. And they’ve only scored more than a single goal in four of those matches.

Walcott scored 19 goals in all competitions last season. He’s got three in five Europa League appearances this term.

When played through on goal, he tends to be a reliable finisher. Mauricio Pellegrino could do with one of those right now.

Dash of Speed

The Southampton squad could also do with an injection of speed to give them a greater attacking threat. Nathan Redmond and Sofiane Boufal are both pretty rapid, but Walcott has pace in abundance and knows how to use it.

The threat of Walcott running in behind often forces opposing defences to sit deeper, which would give the likes of Dusan Tadic more time on the ball to pick the perfect pass.

Experience

Since leaving Southampton as a 16-year-old, Walcott has gone through the peaks and troughs of being a top-level footballer. He was hailed as England’s next superstar as a youngster, then come under criticism for not growing into the player people hoped he would.

Along the way, he’s scored over 100 goals for Arsenal, faced some of the best teams in the world in the Champions League and played in a major international tournament.

Southampton have a fairly young squad and bringing in Walcott, who has plenty of experience and an attachment to the club, could have an impact on and off the pitch.

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Author

Daniel Anwar

Daniel has written about sport for Coral, Squawka, FourFourTwo and the Premier League, among others.