Not many would have expected Theo Walcott to be the hero on Saturday, yet the former Arsenal winger proved to be arguably Everton’s best performing player in their 2-0 win over West Ham.
| Superb performance, @theowalcott!
So unlucky not to get the goal! #EVEWHU @Davanti_Tyres #PerformanceDriven pic.twitter.com/j7j7ZbYgYu
— Everton (@Everton) October 20, 2019
The 30-year-old attacker assisted Bernard’s opening goal as well as almost score one of his own as Walcott’s audacious effort in the second-half from outside of the area rattled off the crossbar, and the winger’s performance as a whole was widely praised as the likes of WhoScored awarded the former England international the Man of the Match award for the game.
Walcott’s performance came as a pleasant surprise to Everton fans, who have largely criticised the attacker since his move from Arsenal to Merseyside due to his constant string of poor performances that have usually made the winger the scapegoat in the side, with a season report from Royal Blue Mersey best summing up the forward’s time at the club.
Here’s what some Everton fans had to say about Walcott’s performance against West Ham on Twitter, with many of them surprised about the attacker’s showing…
Fella gets so much stick but yesterday he was different type of class keep it up Theo
— Joe Walmsley (@Walmo01) October 20, 2019
Best game in an Everton shirt
— Cheryl swanick (@Cheryl01375906) October 20, 2019
Near perfect display from Theo yesterday, the goal would have been the cherry on the icing on the cake!
— Chris Lawlor (@cj_lawlor) October 20, 2019
I was honestly most impressed with his defensive efforts too.. Usually nowhere to be seen when we defend bit yesterday was in a lot of better positions
— Will Veurink (@will_veurink) October 20, 2019
Everton supporters were hoping Walcott can maintain a level of consistency following this incredible performance…
Theo’s best game in a blue shirt. The reason he has received stick in the past is because fans know how good he could be with some of his attributes. Displays like yesterday prove that. More of the same please
— Joe Reid (@J8Reid) October 20, 2019
Let’s hope we see more performances like this from theo please ..!!
— Andrew (@ANDYFIE13) October 20, 2019
Top performance yesterday. Showed what he is capable of. More of the same next week please.
— Warren O Mahony (@TheWarBar) October 20, 2019
Loved his display yesterday. Great commitment and link up play. Hopefully confidence increases because his pace is a nightmare for defenders alongside Richarlison and Iwobi
— Steven (@anxiouspancreas) October 20, 2019
Walcott’s performance seemingly saved manager Marco Silva’s job, with a positive performance and result for the Toffees keeping the Portuguese manager in the manager seat for the time being.