Theo Walcott has been here before. He was there in 2008 in the infamous match at Birmingham City when Eduardo suffered a horrific leg break at a time when Arsenal were five points clear at the top, with 12 games to play.
Indeed, he scored twice that day before a last-minute penalty equaliser from Birmingham prompted William Gallas’ famous on-pitch, sit-down meltdown which came to symbolise the capitulation of a young team. Arsenal drew the next four games, lost to Chelsea and by the time they won again — away at Bolton — it was late March and the moment for dramatic comebacks had passed. The title was gone.
Walcott wasn’t on the pitch when defeat by Birmingham in the 2011 League Cup final precipitated another Arsenal collapse; he was ruled out with injury that day, but was very much part of that team. On February 23, Arsenal had beaten Stoke and were one point behind Manchester United at the top going into that cup final at the weekend.
Four days later they lost the League Cup final at a time when the club was aching to win a major trophy, not having done so since 2005. Three weeks later they were out of the Champions League and the FA Cup and had managed only one win in the next seven league games. Manchester United had disappeared into the distance and Arsenal slid to fourth.
So there was a certain bitter irony when Walcott did that thing for which Arsenal fans remember him, running beyond the defender to a slide-rule pass inside the centre-half and easing the ball home for a 2-0 lead on a dramatic but ultimately frustrating night for both Arsenal and Southampton last Friday.
‘My son’s going to be really disappointed that I didn’t celebrate, but I just couldn’t,’ said Walcott afterwards. He was crucial in establishing Southampton’s lead and at least gleaning a point for them, though, as he pointed out, it could have been so much more for the bottom club. ‘It’s an indifferent day for me today. I felt like I couldn’t win, regardless of the situation. It is what it is. Hopefully Arsenal can now go on and win the league.’
Wednesday’s pivotal meeting with Manchester City now feels like it might fall flat after the weeks of build-up. Arsenal, having conceded two-goal leads at Liverpool and West Ham, are wobbling just when Manchester City get into their stride. The runners that pound the streets of the London Marathon today will recognise that moment when the breakaway leader hits the wall and their legs go. Though the chasing runner may be 50m behind, it is clear that the athlete in second is going to win.
On current form, City may have Wednesday’s game — and with it the title — won by half-time. To take a more positive spin for Arsenal, their meltdowns of yore began in February. We’re now in late April and Arsenal are five points clear. An entirely different proposition to the position for the teams of Arsene Wenger’s second decade.
Even if they fail, the mantra at Arsenal is this was the youngest squad in the Premier League until they signed Jorginho and that with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Aaron Ramsdale, they could build on a second-place finish and win a title in years to come. Walcott, the man who went to his first World Cup at 17 but never played a game and was never again picked for a World Cup, knows young talent doesn’t inevitably fulfil destiny foretold.
It once felt inevitable a young side with Wojciech Szczesny, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy and Alex Song would learn from failures and win league titles. And they all did, a total of ten between them in their respective careers after 2011. None at Arsenal though. They all had to leave to fulfil their dreams.
Sometimes you have to take your opportunities when they come and it’s hard to conceive another season when Chelsea and Liverpool are so weak at the same time and when Manchester City have left it relatively late to hit top form.
As such, the final whistle brought a sense of disappointment. For Southampton, a crucial win had been denied and Arsenal had failed to use eight minutes of injury time to grab a season-defining winner.
‘It deflated everyone,’ said Walcott. ‘That’s the sense I got from fans and both teams. We were in a great position. We sort of threw it away. We would have taken a point from the top team before the game, but when you’re five minutes away [from winning], you’ve got to be hanging on.’ That they didn’t and conceded two late goals is a glimmer of hope for Arsenal.
Thomas Partey said: ‘I liked the mentality of our team, that we keep on pushing even when down and we could have won with our attitude. Now we must do everything to win at City.’ Or, as Gabriel Jesus put it: ‘Nothing changes. It’s a final again. Every game is a final that we are facing. This is the most important game of the season for us.’
He’s right, except the momentum has shifted. It was a game Arsenal could afford to draw. It now feels like a game they need to win.
Having done his duty by Southampton, Walcott, while focussing on his own club’s battle for survival, can now fully invest in Arsenal’s title challenge. ‘Of course I’ve got an emotional connection to Arsenal,’ he said. ‘It’s part of my life. There’s a great feeling about the club, a sense behind the scenes. Everything is new and fans believe in it, and that’s what we needed.’
Are City beatable, he was asked? ‘Yes! Of course they are!’ he replied. ‘This team can beat anyone, 100 per cent.’ Arsenal desperately need that day to be Wednesday.