Never a confident tackler at the best of times, Wenger has demanded that he does more to win the ball back. “He has to go for contact,” he said in December. “Because today, the game does not forgive you any lack of contact or defensive focus.” One of the ironies of all this is that in Walcott’s absence, Oxlade-Chamberlain has matured into the sort of player Walcott was supposed to become: an intelligent attacking midfielder with a venomous turn of pace. But after sustaining a hamstring injury at Old Trafford on Monday, he is now out for the next few weeks, which may give Walcott his chance. All of which poses the question: what happens if he fails to take it?