FA Cup final: Theo Walcott has his best Arsenal moment - but how many more will there be?

Nine-and-a-half years after joining the club, a span of time which has become a study in delayed gratification, Theo Walcott finally has his signature achievement in Arsenal colours. Selected from the start in the central role he covets so much for the FA Cup final, it was his well-taken goal which set Arsenal on the way to a sumptuous 4-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley and a record 12th win in the competition. Whether or not this was another occasional eruption of ability from a delicate talent or the start of something rather more substantial is a key question for Arsenal as they survey the summer ahead.

An enthusiastic participant in the post-match celebrations as Wembley reverberated to Arsenal melodies, Walcott’s future still remains uncertain with his contract expiring next summer and Liverpool, amongst others, said to be interested. And while this was surely the finest moment of his time at Arsenal, it was also a performance which demonstrated the two sides of Walcott which ensure he remains a divisive performer, even in the throes of glory. If he stays at Arsenal he may have the chance to address these nagging flaws and put forward a more coherent case for his talent.

Walcott’s has been a career based on fleeting moments – a hat-trick in Croatia; that run against Liverpool to set up Emmanuel Adeabyor in the Champions League; giving Barcelona a scare in 2010 after coming on as a substitute; various goals, assists and gestures in games against Tottenham; and others. A prolific 2012-13 season was the anomaly with a prolonged period of form winning him the contract that is to expire next summer, but injuries have prevented anything more sustained; it is an incomplete and disparate body of work coloured by the occasional triumph and a fair share of disaster.

Wembley witnessed Walcott at his most triumphant. His goal served as a riposte to his critics and a message to his manager, who until the penultimate game of the season had seemingly been freezing out England’s youngest ever player turned Arsenal’s most conflicting star. And then that hat-trick against West Brom happened.

Momentum duly generated, a decisive performance in the cup final appeared to validate what Arsene Wenger had said about Walcott being central to his plans, both literally and metaphorically, prior to the match. "I think he is good enough," said Wenger in a pre-match press conference. "Anyway he can play on the flank, but if you ask me where do I see him in the future, it is through the middle. If you ask him, he will tell you as well through the middle. He has electric pace, and he has top, top quality in the timing of his runs. If you have that quality if you analyse that, it is the quality of his receptions, the space where he gets the ball basically, that is above average compared to many players."

Those particular qualities are not in doubt and were showcased here to good effect. Handed a surprise start ahead of Olivier Giroud up front, recognition of his superb hat-trick against West Brom on the final, Walcott quickly attacked Villa with some purposeful running when he had the chance to get his legs whirring, which was frequently.

It is his finishing, though, which is of more concern. It might be churlish to pick it apart after he scored the opening goal in an FA Cup final - and what a finish it was too, burying a bouncing ball after Alexis Sanchez had nodded back Nacho Monreal’s cross from the left – but there were flashes of the frustrating Walcott too, as he missed excellent opportunities when being played through by the sublime Mesut Ozil and then Aaron Ramsey.

These are the kind of incidents which undermine Walcott’s talent. The kind of moments which recall Chris Waddle’s famously vicious deconstruction of Walcott as a player without “a football brain” in 2010. Invited to reappraise the forward prior to this FA Cup final, Waddle instead doubled down on his first analysis, claiming: "I watch him and think he's the same player he was when he first came to the Arsenal." Undoubtedly harsh, but a perspective which demonstrates the divide in opinion when it comes to the 26-year-old.

Those two wasted chances were fleeting portraits of an incomplete forward which ultimately proved inconsequential as Arsenal sauntered to victory, slicing through Villa at will, yet they may resurface when the prickly question of his contract renewal and his future at the club come up for discussion during the summer. Walcott timed his prolific burst of form perfectly to prise £100,000 per week out of the club back in 2012-13; might his late impact this season, just when he seemed to have been sidelined by Wenger as he continued his long recovery from serious injury, have a similar effect?

Wenger, as he revelled in his sixth FA Cup victory, said of Walcott’s future: “I don’t see why he should not be here next season. He is a player who was out for a year, January to January, and it took him a while to come back to his best and I think he is now at an age where it is very interesting. He has experience, is at his peak physically, and it is time to stay with us.”

Wenger’s answer hinted at the prospect of better things to come from a player who has experienced prolonged growing pains, a possible leap forward in his evolution when the flaws of youth will be shed. If he does stay at the club into next season, Walcott may well have the opportunity to finally transform his Arsenal career from one of sporadic moments - the most glorious of which we witnessed at Wembley - to joined-up consistency.