Walcott’s hard day earning his crust

WARM applause, kind words and a pie bearing his name will not have made this homecoming any easier for Theo Walcott to swallow.

In his absence, Arsenal had their swagger back, with new blood giving the place the lift it needed and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang an instant hero, marking his debut with a goal in the No14 shirt Walcott wore for nearly a decade.

There are similarities in style but Aubameyang is the speed-merchant striker Walcott might have been.

There is a long way to go if he is to eclipse Walcott’s 108 goals for the club and behind the excitement of this new beginning Arsenal did not overlook the recently departed. Per Mertesacker wrote an emotional tribute to his friend and neighbour Olivier Giroud in the programme and Arsene Wenger explained his reasons for selling Walcott. ‘At some stage, when he felt that he needed to go to have a chance to play at the World Cup, I didn’t stop him because I couldn’t guarantee him that he would play the number of games he deserved,’ said the manager.

Then, there was the ultimate accolade, the jerk chicken pie named in his honour remains on the menu at Piebury Corner, in nearby Holloway Road.

Yesterday, Arsenal were 3-0 up inside 20 minutes and Walcott had barely seen the ball. Then, midway through the first half, he twisted inside Nacho Monreal but Shkodran Mustafi recovered to make a sliding block as Walcott went for goal.

The home crowd sang ‘Theo, Theo’, a sympathetic offering of support which must have deepened his gloom. He was replaced with half an hour remaining, but will have a major role to play this season and will thrive on Merseyside.

And here, if required, was resounding support for the theory that it was time for Wenger to cut free some of his favourite sons.