Theo Walcott has a tough decision to make about his Arsenal future.

It was this time last season that Walcott was having his second wind as an Arsenal player.

Written off after an indifferent 2015/16 campaign, the forward started the 2016/17 season like a player reborn. Playing with a new found aggression and ruthlessness in front of goal, he had bagged five goals before the first week of October, and eight before the month was even halfway through.

He ended that season with 19 goals altogether, the second highest tally of his career.

This time, there’s no threat of Walcott repeating that feat.

If he looked like a player fighting for his place last season, he resembles one who knows he’s fallen down the pecking order this season. His cup match appearances have been effective – three goals in three games is a good strike rate no matter the competition – but not overly impressive.

Nobody is watching Walcott now and believing he’s earned himself a spot in the first team.

In fact, there hasn’t been much noise at all about Walcott’s phasing out from first team selection.

The Emirates may still resound with chants of ‘Theo, Theo, Theo’ whenever he’s spotted, but between Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, the extremely likeable Danny Welbeck and the exciting Alex Iwobi, nobody is bothered by Walcott not playing. Even Arsene Wenger doesn’t appear too concerned about his game time, if his selection of Iwobi and Welbeck ahead of him is any indication.

It seems an odd way to treat a player with over 100 goals for the club, but it’s the natural result of the changes Arsenal have made.

With three attackers instead of four, Arsenal can’t afford to play someone with such a limited range of skills every week. Hence, Welbeck and Iwobi are always going to be preferred; they might not remotely compare to Walcott when it comes to scoring goals, but offer much more to the starting line-up in exchange.

Having kept faith with him for so long, it seems unlikely that Wenger would ever force Walcott out of the club. Yet, he has to decide if it’s worth keeping him around or not.

Should Southampton or West Ham come along with a nice offer, would it be worth keeping his fifth choice attacker around? Or would it be a good opportunity to sell and bring in some fresh talent?

On evidence, you have to say the latter makes more sense. Hence, Walcott could soon face a career defining decision.

He’s now 28-years-old and due for a contract renewal, perhaps the last major deal of his career. He’s long since lost his place in the England team, and is now no longer a regular in the Arsenal set-up, either.

Committing to Arsenal means either proving he’s still good enough to start – and with Ozil (possibly) and Alexis out the door, he will have that chance – or accepting his place in the squad.

Otherwise, the only option is to leave.