Henry: Walcott should have at least 150 goals by now

Theo Walcott reached a notable career landmark over the weekend, but Thierry Henry believes the Arsenal forward has taken too long to get there.

The England international was on target against Stoke City on Saturday, with the Gunners’ first in a 3-1 win taking him to 100 goals at club level.

It has taken him 384 games to reach a century, with this only the fourth year that he has broken into double figures.

Walcott has, however, netted 10 times in only 17 appearances this term, with there now an end product to his game on a more consistent basis.

Henry is delighted to see a former protégé from his time on Arsenal’s books performing to his full potential, but feels a player of the 27-year-old’s ability should have been hitting the targets he has only just reached a long time ago.

He told Sky Sports News: "For me, that should have happened way before. Theo should, for me, already be on 150, 160 or 170 goals. 

"Walcott has been at the club for 10 seasons, we are not talking about a youngster that just arrived in the game and we are praising him for scoring goals.

“He’s playing on a regular basis now and he deserves it because he’s working hard. 

“Maybe before he didn’t deserve to start all of the time, so therefore you cannot perform. If you are not on the field, it is very difficult.

“Let’s not forget that he got injured a lot, with some very difficult injuries for him, but he’s been in and out of the squad for a long time. 

“I’m happy for him that he can finally perform, but I think he also understood what it takes to play for Arsenal Football Club week in, week out.”

Walcott has also netted eight times for England in 46 appearances, but the last of those came back in October 2015 during a 2-0 victory over Estonia.