Old Walnut's development as a player has suffered at the hands of Wenger. He puts him out wide - cos that what's Wenger does with pacey players - but after 5 years out wide Walnut still cannot cross a ball, gawd forbid him, like many modern day wide players, 'attacking the bye line' and crossing! Unfortunately, after 5 years, he still does not have the necessary skill to get past players either, which is an important attribute for any wide player, and he goes down to easy, and too often, in my humble opinion, he has bottled it when faced by an intimidating defender.
However,what I, and many others could see, was that he needed to be more central in a direct role. What we might of called in my days, an inside forward. He has a good eye for goal, and this can only improve with experience, plus pace that terrifies central defenders. Yes he has still much to learn in that position, like playing with his back to goal, more consistency in beating the off side trap, but these weaknesses and can be improved in playing the role and in training/coaching.
It looks like - at last - even Wenger has seen that his 'Project Wide was a waste. When will Wenger realise that because something works for Thierry Henry, it will not necessarily work for all other players!!!
Finally, I believe that Walcott will be a good player for the Gunners, not a great one, but I'd be delighted if I am wrong. After all Walcott's probably got 10 years at top to build his own history at Arsenal.
