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Theo Walcott celebrates his hat-trick against West Brom.

Theo Walcott - Player of the Week

Theo Walcott - Player of the Week

Arsenal club badge.

Is Theo Walcott back to his best?

Walcott celebrates one of his goals with the fans.Theo Walcott scored a first-half hat-trick as Arsenal finished their Premier League season in style. The 4-1 victory against West Brom means the Gunners finish the season in 3rd place and qualify automatically for the Champions League. Manchester Utd, who finished fourth, will have a play-off in August to qualify for the Champions League group stages. Walcott started his first match in more than two months against West Brom and looked to be back to his best. He scored his first, and best, goal after only 4 minutes. He collected the ball on the edge of the penalty box and hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner. His second arrived 10 minutes later, poking home after taking the ball past a West Brom defender. Jack Wilshire hit a spectacular goal, before Walcott completed his hat-trick after a pass from Santi Cazorla. After scoring, Walcott ran to the bench to celebrate with the Arsenal physio, Declan Lynch. Lynch has helped Walcott regain his fitness after nearly a year out through injury.

"Theo had a great game today. He was on fire and moved well."  Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.

Has Arsenal's season finished?

Walcott is congratulated by Arsene Wenger.Arsenal have finished their Premier League campaign, but they still have one more match to play this season. On Saturday the 30th May, Arsenal play Aston Villa in the FA Cup final. Walcott will be looking for his first major honour as a player. Arsenal won the Cup last season, but Walcott didn't play in the final because of injury. He was injured earlier in the competition, when playing against Arsenal's North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which is one of the injuries footballers fear the most. An ACL can keep a player out of action for over a year and can often end a player's career. Thankfully, Walcott is on the road to recovery and appears not to have lost any of the speed that he is famous for. 

“I've bounced back before and it's made me stronger.” Theo Walcott, talking about his career threatening injury.

Who's going to win the FA Cup?

Walcott scoring against Villa earlier in the season.The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and was first played in 1871/72! Arsenal will start the FA Cup final as favourites, but there have been many surprises over the years and in a one-off game there is always the possibility of a shock. Only 2 years ago, Wigan Athletic created one of the biggest FA Cup final shocks, when they beat Manchester City, to win the Cup for the first ever time. It wasn't all happiness for Wigan, they were relegated from the Premier League just 3 days later, becoming the first team to be relegated and win the Cup in the same season. Aston Villa are now safe from relegation and they have won the FA Cup 7 times, but the last time was in 1957. Arsenal are the holders, they beat Hull City 3-2 in last year's final and have won the competition a record 11 times.

"To grab the match ball is a great achievement personally. But more importantly, the team is looking sharp going into next week’s final."  Theo Walcott speaking after his hat-trick against West Brom.

What do we know about Theo Walcott?

Walcott on the pitch at the Emirates with his son.Theo James Walcott was born on 16 April 1989 in London, but grew up in Berkshire, in the English countryside. Walcott is a product of Southampton's youth academy which he joined when he was 11 years old. The youth academy at Southampton has become one of the most famous in the UK and has produced many famous players. In addition to Walcott, other players that have played in Southampton's youth system include:

Theo Walcott (Arsenal) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Calum Chambers (Arsenal) Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
Adam Lallana (Liverpool) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)

 

Walcott became Southampton's youngest-ever player when he made his debut aged 16 years and 143 days and scored 3 goals in his first 3 matches. In January 2006, he signed for Arsenal in a deal that was eventually worth £9.1 million. Since making his debut, Walcott has made over 30 appearances for the Gunners and scored 75 goals.

How many hat-tricks have been scored this season?

Walcott celebrating a goal at Old Trafford.Walcott's hat-trick was the tenth and final hat-trick of the Premier League season. The first hat-trick of 2014/15 was scored by Chelsea's Diego Costa against Swansea City. The fastest hat-trick of 2014/15 was scored by Southampton's Sadio Mane against Aston Villa, this was also a new Premier League record. Yannick Bolasie of Crystal Palace was the only player to score a hat-trick for an away team, when he scored three against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. And Sergio Aguero was the only player to score more than three goals in a match, when he scored 4 against Spurs. Aguero is also the only player to score more than one hat-trick this season as he also scored three against QPR in May.

Which hat-tricks can you remember?

Click on talk and quiz and let us know what you think!

Walcott celebrating withhis Arsenal teammates.

What did you understand?

 
Activity 1: In this activity, try to answer the questions to show how much of the article you understand.
How much did you understand?

Activity 2: Look at some words from the article about Theo Walcott. Can you match the words to the meanings?
Match the words to their definitions.

Did you know......?

  • Theo Walcott is a Liverpool fan!
  • In 2006, Walcott became the youngest ever player to play for England. He was just 17 years and 75 days.
  • Walcott was one of the sports stars that carried the Olympic flame at London 2012.
  • Walcott is also a writer! He has published four books, three of them are football stories for children and aslo an auto-biography.
  • Theo Walcott's wife had a small part in one of the Harry Potter films - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Walcott has been happy playing with Alexis Sanchez this season.

Quiz

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What do you think?

Arsenal have some fantastic attacking players; Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey.

Do Arsenal have the best attacking players in the Premier League? Can all these players play in the same team?

Do you think Arsenal will win the Premier League next season?

Answer the questions and leave your message below.

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Comments

hsn's picture
hsn
12/11/2022
TR
5558
points

Sentence
• After recovery from alcohol addiction this actor looks to be back to his best.
Football idiom suggestion:
• Hi Jack, here, there is a common football idiom. I don't know what is called in English. "Topa (The ball) girmek (step in)" Literal meaning is to try to get or to grab the ball from opponent while tackling. This idiom is used especially in business life to remind responsilities to someone like manager who avoid to take authority. Another usage of this idiom is negative; "Bu topa girmem"(=I don't step in this ball) . It's said when there is risky ,dangerous or unpredicitable sitıuaton and speaker has intention of avoiding from it.


hsn's picture
hsn
12/11/2022 17:04
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5558

Sentence
• After recovery from alcohol addiction this actor looks to be back to his best.
Football idiom suggestion:
• Hi Jack, here, there is a common football idiom. I don't know what is called in English. "Topa (The ball) girmek (step in)" Literal meaning is to try to get or to grab the ball from opponent while tackling. This idiom is used especially in business life to remind responsilities to someone like manager who avoid to take authority. Another usage of this idiom is negative; "Bu topa girmem"(=I don't step in this ball) . It's said when there is risky ,dangerous or unpredicitable sitıuaton and speaker has intention of avoiding from it.

Jack Radford's picture
Jack Radford
15/11/2022
GB
22
points

Hi Hsn

I'll have to have a think about these. I'm not sure that we have similar idoims in English - at least, not football idioms. I will keep thinking though...

Thanks

Jack


Jack Radford's picture
Jack Radford
15/11/2022 11:33
United Kingdom
Arsenal
22

Hi Hsn

I'll have to have a think about these. I'm not sure that we have similar idoims in English - at least, not football idioms. I will keep thinking though...

Thanks

Jack

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
30/06/2021
BR
1512
points

Arsenal had an impressive amount of good players, such as listed above. I think that good players can always play together and that is a manager's problem to arrange them at the pitch. But I don't think they were the best PL attacking players at that time.


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
30/06/2021 18:49
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

Arsenal had an impressive amount of good players, such as listed above. I think that good players can always play together and that is a manager's problem to arrange them at the pitch. But I don't think they were the best PL attacking players at that time.

Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
06/04/2021
EG
438
points

Arsenal have amazing attacking players but the defense is awful and they lack confidence.

I don't think Arsenal will win the Premier League for awhile, If management continue following the same philosophy and approach of the past decade.


Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
06/04/2021 13:32
Egypt
Arsenal
438

Arsenal have amazing attacking players but the defense is awful and they lack confidence.

I don't think Arsenal will win the Premier League for awhile, If management continue following the same philosophy and approach of the past decade.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
22/06/2020
TR
6539
points

Arsenal have some amazing attacking players but the defence is awful and they lack confidence.
That's why I don't think Arsenal will win the Premier League for awhile.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
22/06/2020 16:53
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Arsenal have some amazing attacking players but the defence is awful and they lack confidence.
That's why I don't think Arsenal will win the Premier League for awhile.

englishman
19/07/2016
DZ
1734
points

these player can play any where and do the best of the best


englishman
19/07/2016 15:19
Algeria
Manchester City
1734

these player can play any where and do the best of the best

englishman
19/07/2016
DZ
1734
points

yes I think that they will win


englishman
19/07/2016 15:17
Algeria
Manchester City
1734

yes I think that they will win

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016
GH
4779
points

Arsenal are no where near winning the league until they make some major signings


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016 00:38
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

Arsenal are no where near winning the league until they make some major signings

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016
GH
4779
points

No all these players can't play in the same team. Some will have to be substitutestopped.


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016 00:37
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

No all these players can't play in the same team. Some will have to be substitutestopped.

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016
GH
4779
points

To some extent yes arsenal have one of the best attacking players in the league


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
05/06/2016 00:36
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

To some extent yes arsenal have one of the best attacking players in the league

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
13/03/2016
TR
1761
points

Yes,they are Walcott,Alexis.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
13/03/2016 19:24
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

Yes,they are Walcott,Alexis.

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
12/01/2016
PS
3705
points

They are able to win the league this season.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
12/01/2016 17:44
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

They are able to win the league this season.

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
05/12/2015
ME
3557
points

Gunners have very attacking line-up, and sometimes it is not easy to combine all the players but it is the same idea for many years and the players can easily adapt on many formations. Flamini for example played out of UK for 5 years. Still, when he returned to Arsenal he didn't have to get use to the new methods. It remained the same, only the players were new:-)


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
05/12/2015 19:54
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Gunners have very attacking line-up, and sometimes it is not easy to combine all the players but it is the same idea for many years and the players can easily adapt on many formations. Flamini for example played out of UK for 5 years. Still, when he returned to Arsenal he didn't have to get use to the new methods. It remained the same, only the players were new:-)

nikosonris
07/12/2015
UA
2453
points

I hope their injury bench will be empty soon, and the Gunners will show their real power to head the way to the top of the Premier League.


nikosonris
07/12/2015 12:02
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

I hope their injury bench will be empty soon, and the Gunners will show their real power to head the way to the top of the Premier League.

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
05/12/2015
ME
3557
points

I hope Arsenal can go far this season!


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
05/12/2015 19:49
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

I hope Arsenal can go far this season!

niitagashi's picture
niitagashi
30/11/2015
XK
11
points

He is the best !!


niitagashi's picture
niitagashi
30/11/2015 17:01
Kosovo
Manchester United
11

He is the best !!

nikosonris
23/11/2015
UA
2453
points

It's the right time for Arsenal to win. They have a full arsenal to win - a good mix of attacking players, an excellent goal-keeper and an intelligent manager. Just a little bit of luck they need. Co Gunners!


nikosonris
23/11/2015 11:35
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

It's the right time for Arsenal to win. They have a full arsenal to win - a good mix of attacking players, an excellent goal-keeper and an intelligent manager. Just a little bit of luck they need. Co Gunners!

MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
20/11/2015
RW
2320
points

It's fantastic to see him, I like his speed


MUGEMANYI's picture
MUGEMANYI
20/11/2015 07:06
Rwanda
Arsenal
2320

It's fantastic to see him, I like his speed

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015
ME
3557
points

Arsenal could win the PL but they need to stop injuring themselves all the time! They have good players on the bench but something's really wrong with a strength and condition coach. It is too much..


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
03/11/2015 16:04
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Arsenal could win the PL but they need to stop injuring themselves all the time! They have good players on the bench but something's really wrong with a strength and condition coach. It is too much..

Sir_Mahdi24's picture
Sir_Mahdi24
26/10/2015
AF
139
points

Walcott is really speedy...
I like him...


Sir_Mahdi24's picture
Sir_Mahdi24
26/10/2015 20:27
Afghanistan
Arsenal
139

Walcott is really speedy...
I like him...

Abdallah
28/09/2015
KW
1814
points

They have the best attacking players and playing style but they have the worst manager in football history.
Arsenal won't win the epl this season , I think they will be at 5


Abdallah
28/09/2015 08:58
Kuwait
Chelsea
1814

They have the best attacking players and playing style but they have the worst manager in football history.
Arsenal won't win the epl this season , I think they will be at 5

mina botros's picture
mina botros
27/08/2015
EG
0
points

yes off course arsenal have good players to attack any team and score but arsenal can't win the premeir league as the team not attacking only but also can defend


mina botros's picture
mina botros
27/08/2015 16:04
Egypt
Manchester United
0

yes off course arsenal have good players to attack any team and score but arsenal can't win the premeir league as the team not attacking only but also can defend

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Goals

In this article, you will:

Practise reading.

Learn all about Arsenal forward, Theo Walcott, and learn some new vocabulary.

Tips

Recording Vocabulary

How do you keep a record of new vocabulary? There are some great apps you can use on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Here are a couple of suggestions:

  • Evernote is a fantastic tool for storing and categorising vocabulary.
  • Anki is another great tool - you can use it to create flash cards and then test yourself.