Theo Doesn't Know, Theo's Gotta Go

Let's concede the obvious right away.  Theo is not Henry, shouldn't be compared to Henry and aside from the number on his shirt and his raw speed they don't have much in common.  Though Wenger has hinted at moving him into the striker role from time to time, Theo's skill sets have shown us he is very much limited to the right wing.

Unlike every other wide forward under Wenger's era Theo is not dynamic.  He has one foot
to produce with and that is his right.  His reluctance to cut in from the right wing and his lack of distribution on the left is the clearest example of a player who is limited and predictable.  While there have been many great wingers who have been strong with one foot, they have not played for the Gunners in the past 10 years.  The reason being Arsenal has been a team that traditionally brings the winger in from the outside, creating more passing lanes in and around the box.  Think back to arguably the best left flank of all time,  Cole Pires and Henry.  Constantly switching out to in and dragging fullbacks and covering midfielders all over the pitch until they popped up on the far post for a tap in or made a streaking run to get on the end of a pass behind the defense.

Until this season there has not been a great reliance on Theo's services, but with the loss of key personnel, Wenger has moved to a more direct game to accommodate his teams current skill sets.  Theo is now a key player for the Gunners and his weaknesses have hurt them more than ever.  What's more and more noticeable every week is Theo's lack of intelligence.  He may be able to beat defenders to the bi line and sneak in a low line drive to RVP (something he has improved on this season), but when he is asked to drift inside by an overlapping Gibbs Sagna or Jenkinson he looks like a lost child.  If space is given to him he won't shoot.  If RVP calls for a pass Theo will force it.  Defenders have even picked up to keep him inside so he makes a mistake, which he often does.  On many occasions his loose ball control his been his own undoing in any tight space.  This has created a slight reluctance on his part to check back for the ball and link with his midfielders and fullbacks.

That still leaves us with his nearly unmatched speed that wreaked havoc on the Barcelona back line two years ago in the CL.  There are two scenarios where Theo's pace has made him look like a clone of Mr. Henry.  The first being when he gets open space to run at a back line.  While there have been glimpses of something special in the making, they have been put to rest this season.  Simply put, his decision making has been poor.  He does not understand how to create space, overlap when necessary or just pass to the right man.  The second being running behind the defense.  For some reason he seems reluctant to attack the space behind defenders this season.  Perhaps he would like the ball played to his feet more, or maybe he just doesn't see the space or how to get there (running diagonal instead of in a straight line.)

With the arrival of Oxlade-Chamberlain it looks more in more like Arsene has picked up Theos replacement and not his understudy.  While still very raw the young gun has shown he is more than capable of taking on defenders whether it be inside or out, and has shown much more confidence on the ball whether it be at his foot or his distribution.

Arsenal seems to be developing a bright crop of young talent as always and while the future looks bright Theos is as dim as ever.