In his latest Sportinglife.com column, Charlie Nicholas highlights Theo Walcott as the key man to salvaging Arsenal's season ahead of Monday Night Football's trip to Crystal Palace.
Alexis Sanchez is the best player, Mesut Ozil is the most talented, but what Theo Walcott offers, running off the ball and taking chances is so important for this team.
Ozil seems like he’s got a bit of confidence back but Sanchez isn’t looking interested in playing out of the left, which he made a point of by not even trying to take on Jesus Navas last weekend.
Will Walcott he ever really fulfil the potential? No, he’s not improved as a footballer, but his assets are invaluable and he’s been Arsenal’s best player behind Sanchez this season.
Anyone that gets close to 20 goals in a season, something that Olivier Giroud struggles with in a central role, is key and I think Theo is the player who can drag us through this wretched spell.
This another one of these games where I can easily see my team stumble, although Crystal Palace do seem to get a bit nervous at home.
They did amazingly against Chelsea but they’re back in the relegation mix after losing to Southampton.
Arsenal took a tiny step forward against West Ham but it looked a bit more robust once that first goal went in.
I really don’t see Laurent Koscielny as a miss and if he's not fit in time then I don't really see that as a real concern.
Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke, if they play well then they can win this game, but the issue is whether they’ll see enough of the ball.
Arsenal's attacking players should be regularly getting balls in dangerous areas and Walcott is in the form to take the chances.
Charlie Nicholas' Crystal Palace v Arsenal verdict: Theo Walcott to score first and Arsenal to win 2-1 at 30/1