When Theo Walcott arrived at Arsenal in 2006 from Southampton I, like most Arsenal fans, was pretty excited. From the grainy YouTube clips, it was clear the kid had blistering pace. He had so much speed it was unreal. Then as Arsene and Arsenal bedded him into the side, we saw glimpses of what the kid can do.

Unfortunately, in the 6 years he’s been at Arsenal, he just hasn’t progressed as most of us have expected.

Although that might sound harsh, that is not the intention at all. He is the model professional, one of the few English players that is quite articulate and well spoken, and if you look at footballers as role models, would be a good one. He doesn’t seek publicity, doesn’t shag grannies and isn’t stumbling out of night clubs with his pants around his ankles.

As a person, and from the limited interviews and clips I’ve seen of him, I couldn’t fault him.

The only grip, which is the biggest, is his ability to frustrate.

Now don’t get me wrong, in the last 25 years that I’ve supported Arsenal, I will always remember those “wow moments”. Those special moments in football matches which excite me, which I know I’ll always remember. Obviously these include Michael Thomas at Anfield, and many moments from Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira et al during the 1998, 2002 and 2004 seasons that I will always replay in my mind. And more recently, some special goals from Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Mikel Arteta but to name a few.

And while Theo may not have scored some, what I would call, spectacular goals, he did give me anyway, some truly memorable moments. These include that awesome run against Liverpool in the Champions League, where he picked up the ball on the edge of our area from a corner, beat God knows how many players and then laid on a sitter for Adebayor for the goal which should have seen us progress. That run was epic and I can’t remember how many Liverpool players he left on their arses.

He scored that “unique” goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, where he tripped himself up and still managed to get up and beat 4 players and smash a low shot past Petr Cech – a goal which summed the guy up.

Capable of the mind-boggling, but never did it enough.

The reason why I call him Arsene’s greatest failure is because this kid could have been a world beater, but for whatever reason never realised his potential.

Gifted with blistering pace, at 16 he really should have progressed to the greatest heights. When you look at Thierry Henry who was under Arsene’s tutelage, and Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Manchester United at 18, they had fantastic pace but they added to their game and progressed season after season. After a few seasons, they became some of the best players the game has ever seen.

So you just think in those 6 years, why hasn’t Theo come close to this?

He has improved since 2006, no doubt, but not a huge amount. In those 6 years why didn’t he learn some tricks to bamboozle defences? The problem Theo has is he never had a trick to beat and man and would usually run straight into a tackle. He never shifts the ball to make the defender think.

Against teams that play high up against Arsenal (which is never much) he is great. Over the top and he’s away. But against most teams we play that sit back and defend deep, he is pretty much useless. It’s no co-incidence that most of his productive games and memorable moments for Arsenal have been away. He just doesn’t have the “footballing brain” that a lot of people have harped on about, and something that used to gripe me when Waddle first mentioned it. But for the last few years I’ve understood what he means.

The problem is that if Theo had the ability with the ball that most of the Arsenal squad has, with his pace he would be a better player ten fold.

I think the best way to think about Theo is when you’re playing Fifa or Pro Evolution on your PlayStation or XBox – when you play these games, Theo Walcott is an amazing player and one of the best on the game because he’s the quickest guy and you’re controlling him. So you can shift him left and right, pull off a skill move and pass and shoot accurately and exactly where you want it. On Fifa I can guarantee Theo scores 2 or 3 goals every time I play a match but Theo in real life isn’t like that and has your crap mate who always loses controlling him instead.

According to reports, Arsenal have ended their interest in Nuri Sahin after Liverpool offered to pay a bigger proportion of the players wages and agreed a larger transfer fee should Real Madrid sell at the end of the season.

The news around the Twittishere for a long time was that once Song left, Arsenal were going to step up their pursuit of Sahin but it seems they have just lost out to the Reds from Liverpool.

So where does this leave Arsenal?

Arsene has stated several times that midfield is a position we are strong, so to me the “signing of Sahin” was always a red herring to appease Arsenal fans after selling Song, who was one of our most consistent performers over the last few seasons.

Yesterday afternoon, Arsenal captain and talisman Robin van Persie announced that he was not signing a new deal. He stated that the subject of money had not even been approached, and the difference of opinion in how to make the current squad into a trophy winning one was the reason behind his decision.

On the surface, for me anyway, I thought this was a perfectly reasonable explanation for his decision not to extend his current deal, and essentially leave the club this summer. He has been at Arsenal for 8 seasons, and only has the FA Cup to his name. Looking from this from an objective point of view, he has seen teammates such as Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure, Gilberto, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Thierry Henry, Mathieu Flamini, Eduardo and even Adebayor leave and win honours with new clubs.

Van Persie is 28 and doesn’t believe that Arsenal can win things.

And what is wrong with that? Of course, fans will look to loyalty but he has been with the club for 8 seasons and as far as I’m concerned, given everything when he’s worn the Arsenal shirt. Arsene has admitted that coming 4th in the Premier League is like winning a trophy and this is a team that couldn’t beat Birmingham in the Carling Cup Final. Of course we were unlucky in the Champions League Final against Barcelona in 2006 and if we had won that we would be in a different place than we are now, but that’s a different argument for another day.

Many, many Arsenal fans have said on more than one occasion over the past 7 seasons that with this current board and this current manager, that we won’t win trophies. That we are a feeder club, a club that can’t compete financially, both in terms of transfer fees and wages, Arsene is too stubborn and won’t sign the additions we need to really challenge for honours, and so on.

Don’t you think these things filter out to the players?

We all think that players are in their own little bubble but Van Persie was an Arsenal player that really did love Arsenal – he showed it when he wore the shirt, he showed it when he did social events and showed it off the pitch as well. He involved himself in more things that most other players and you could tell he loved being at Arsenal. But it’s clear we don’t match his ambition and is that his fault?

The response from the majority of Arsenal fans has been less that complimentary. Many fans point to loyalty, citing that we and Arsene supported him when he was suffering from injury problems year after year. They also say he’s a mercenary just after more money. Then a few get really personal, talking about supporting him through his rape accusations and say how he’s a disruptive influence on the dressing room, has a massive ego problem and we should get rid as soon as we can.

This much is clear though, the response from Arsenal fans pretty much eliminates any possibility of Van Persie making a u-turn and staying at Arsenal, and extending his contract. With the feedback Robin has been receiving on Twitter at least, all bridges have now been burnt.

From my point of view, I’ll be gutted that he’s going just like I was when Cesc left. Whatever you might say, we’ve seen him mature into an outstanding player and last season he gave me, and us, some simply wonderful and emotional moments. Some of those goals were right up there with some of my favourite ever Arsenal strikes, the last minute winner against Liverpool in that smash and grab, the goals against Chelsea (and the one where Terry fell flat on his arse), and so many more. Say what you like, but he was sensational last season for us.

But on the flip side, I don’t think it’s a bad thing that he leaves. We have already prepared for his exit with the signings of Podolski and Giroud, and we still have a talented midfield with Song, Arteta, Wilshere, Rosicky and Walcott that will create chance after chance for our new strikers. And in all honesty, I just cannot see Van Persie recreating the form he did last season. Before last season his injuries kept him from having any sustained run in the team and his goalscoring rate was so outstanding that it would be a massive ask for him to even come close to doing the same again.

He hasn’t shown the consistency that Cesc, Titi, Bobby or Dennis did over a number of seasons. If he did then I would be even more disappointed but maybe the time is right to sell him before he gets injured again and while his stock is high. Although another point many fans outlined was that he’s essentially halved his value but signalling his intention to leave.

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