Enjoying the rebirth of boy wonder Walcott

I’M not sure if it was my imagination, but as I studied the players through my binoculars when they trotted out at Ewood Park on Saturday, I sensed a distinct difference in Theo Walcott’s demeanour.

As he received the grateful applause of the Rovers fans, the somewhat diffident teenager seemed to have been transformed into a cocksure star, with the sort of confident swagger of a player who’s suddenly realised he has the potential to put the fear of god into any opposition.

As far as I’m concerned, the international breaks are an annoying interruption to Arsenal business, but I was still chuffed to bits, to see our boy wonder bag his England hat-trick and receive all the plaudits, from those same pundits who doubted whether Walcott was the real deal.

Theo’s ability and his blistering pace have been evident from day one, but aside from the odd cameo role, his inability up until now to live up to our massive expectations, meant that the vast majority of Gooners had even begun to wonder whether there was a vital missing ingredient.

However, where our patience might have worn thin with another player, there was never the slightest chance of us giving up on him. As ever, confidence is the key and instead of the customary groan of frustration as Theo galloped down another blind alley, there was a buzz of anticipation at Blackburn with his every touch. Two weeks back, he’d have taken on one player too many, but with his jinking run only eight minutes in, ending in a perfect pass to set up Van Persie for our first, this was further evidence that events during his time in Capello’s camp had resulted in a metamorphosis, from a timid chrysalis into a bold and beautiful butterfly.

Meanwhile it was Adebayor’s three-goal haul that went a long way towards repairing his fractured relationship with all those Gooners, who’d previously bemoaned “Greedy-bayor’s” efforts to hold the club to ransom.

Football players need to feel loved and prior to playing Rovers I’m sure our ambivalent attitude towards Ade must’ve impacted his performances. Saturday’s chest-thumping, badge-kissing goal celebrations demonstrated how delighted he was to hear the terrace resounding to the tune of our Togolese striker’s song.

His control and his first-touch continue to leave a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, Manny’s ungainly efforts somehow seem to assist in his prolific goalscoring feats. Saturday’s hat-trick also put paid to any one season wonder apprehension.

The 27 passes which concluded with Denilson’s pinpoint cross onto Manny’s head for our second, just before the half-time whistle, was vintage Wenger-ball and virtually killed Rovers off.

Yet few present will disagree that the final 4-0 scoreline was flattering. Observing our lack of composure in dealing with set pieces, if I’ve one principal grievance about Gallas as captain, it’s that neither he (nor anyone else!) appears to take command of such situations. In his ability to unsettle centrebacks, Santa Cruz reminded us why there was so much interest in him during the summer. But ultimately Rovers failure to take advantage of our defensive insecurity provided Le Prof with the luxury of handing Ramsey and Wilshere (Arsenal’s youngest ever) brief league debuts, as Wenger tries to break-in more starlets, before the two-game-a-week schedule takes its toll.

It’s a great time for these young Guns, as they’re likely to be afforded plenty more opportunities over the next four months, for them to prove our manager’s parsimony in the transfer market correct.

One only had to consider the unfamiliar names lining for all the other sides on MOTD later that night, to appreciate quite what a lonely course Arsène has plotted. Doubtless the “told you so” crew will be queuing up to crow, the moment our campaign begins to unravel. Yet with three clean sheets and 11 goals in our last three outings and with our big-spending neighbours sitting at the bottom, le gaffer continues to look more genius than crackpot.