It's probably too early to say, but he has been at the club for 2 years & appears to be making little impact.

I had a niggling doubt in my mind, when he signed for the Gunners, that he was doing the wrong thing.

I thought at the time, Wenger had little patience with English players & Walcott would end up at a mid table or even lower league club eventually.

Maybe Walcott will come back, but I just get the feeling he needs to go out on loan or his career will stall even further.

He was over-hyped maybe?

Hardly played any games at Southampton to get experience before making the big move...

Been injured quite a bit as well I think.

He hasn't been given the same chances as some of the other, similarly aged players at the club really. Perhaps he should have been born in Ivory Coast or Nigeria and emigrated to france with his family at a young age to progress further at the club

Interesting points raised here.

He's undoubtedly gifted; blessed with phenomenal speed, but he looks a bit of a lightweight to me; too easily brushed aside.

That may change as he fills out, but I'm not 100% certain, as there are players of a similar stature to Walcott who can handle themselves without too much fuss.

Lets get a few facts straight here.

1) He is 18, he joined at 16 just over 2 years ago.

2) He has played 51 games for Arsenal including 11 Champions league games in those two years despite being injured for 12 months with a repeatedly dislocating shoulder that he was operated on in the summer.

3) The other players of a similar age at the club in the first team are:
Kierra Gilbert
Mark Randall
Nacer Barazite
Kieran Gibbs

Tell me which one of those have played 51 games despite in the case of Randall being at the club since he was 8.

A comparison: Amdy Coles only appearance for Arsenal was at 19 where he scored one goal. At 20 he played 13 games for Fulham on loan and 41 for Bristol City the year after we sold him at 21 after disciplinary problems and thinking he was a bit lightweight. Men dont start filling out till they are in their early 20's

So now answer these questions knowing the facts.

Is playing a 16-18 year old 51 times despite injuries holding him back?

How many other players of his age have played as many games in other teams currently?

When I say injured for 12 months it was a case of play...injured for 2 weeks play injured for 2 weeks repeat and rinse.

Just realised Gilbert is two years older so thats wrong.

Is his career stalling at Arsenal? Must be why he's being loaned out

I wouldn't call it stalling, I think the initial expectations were just too high, especially the farce of being called up to the England squad where unfortunately it was him that had to carry the criticisms from his so-called 'teammates', the media and the public for a decision he had no choice in.

He had a spell last season where he came off the bench and really boosted our performances and it all looked very promising up until his shoulder injury.

His start to this season has been less positive and I think he just needs to toughen up and work on his final ball. He does attempt to run at players but his small frame doesn't get him very far and he rarely comes out of challenges with the ball.

He had a poor game against the spuds but who didn't? It's quite sad to see gooners calling for him to go on loan. Arsene has done him the world of good by putting his confidence in him and that's what Theo needs, maybe it was coincidence or Wenger really did pull it off but Theo had an impressive 2nd half against the Geordies. I'm glad to see Wenger has stuck by him and insisted that he will not be going on loan, staying with the Arsenal boys can only benefit him.

I think it will depend on who we get in during the summer. If Vela comes over as expected and sing a winger then he is going to find it hard to break into a team assuming all fit of Adebayor, RVP, Eduardo, Bendtner, Vela + one more. With the exception of Vela all older all more experienced and all bigger so can see why he is considering it. He has about 3 years before he starts to fill out and toughen up. Have a look at the goal scoring records and number of games played by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer before they hit 21, you may be surprised. Also they werent played on the wing either.

I can't say I've watched any Osasuna games so I haven't got a clue about how good he is apart from the praise I've read about him, which I really hope isn't undeserved as it sounds like he could be a great prospect.

The only problem I see (assuming he is as good as everyone says) is that he may not acclimatise to the country á la Reyes and Baptista, he is in a country with a very similar culture to his own and of course better weather. It will be interesting to see how he does cope in the initial 6 months 'breaking-in' period and if he is strong enough to adapt to the Premier League.

The games I have seen him play in he has been impressive. Against Real he looked like the best player on their team. As you say he may not find it easy to adapt but he is taking English lessons and I am not really sure how easy it is to just move to another country after applying for Spanish citizenship I would think some commitment to Spain in some way would need to be shown maybe taxes paid there are enough dunno as that kind of stuff is over my head.