Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah and more: Theo Walcott builds his 'ultimate forward'
Former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott has picked attributes from Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah as he constructed his 'ultimate forward'. Walcott played for the Gunners from 2006 to 2018.
Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players to grace the beautiful game, while Salah is one of the best wingers of his generation. Walcott - known for his blistering pace during his playing days - included both in his hypothetical forward.
In a video tweeted by ESPN UK, Walcott picked attributes from various players - former and current. The interaction went as follows:
"Movement: Michael Owen"
"Speed: Myself"
"Heading: Didier Drogba"
"Finishing: Thierry Henry"
"Strength: Didier Drogba"
"Dribbling: Messi"
"Link-up: Van Persie"
"Work rate: Mo Salah"
Among the players Walcott picked, only two - Messi and Salah - are still playing, while the rest - Walcott, Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry, Michael Owen and Robin van Persie - are all retired.
Interestingly, all of the aforementioned players - except Messi - played in the Premier League. Walcott was teammates with Henry and Van Persie at Arsenal and played against Drogba and Owen.
How has Lionel Messi fared this season?
Lionel Messi, 36, plies his trade with MLS side Inter Miami - whom he joined on a free transfer last summer after 19 seasons in European football. Most of those campaigns - 17 - were with Barcelona, while the last two were with PSG.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner is off to a fine start to his 2024 season with the Herons despite being plagued by injuries, forcing him to miss a few games. In 15 games across competitions, Messi has bagged 14 goals and 11 assists.
Most of those goal contributions - 12 goals and nine assists in 12 games - have come in MLS, where Tata Martino's side are atop the Eastern Conference after 19 rounds of games.
Messi's two other goals in club football this season have come in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where the Herons lost 5-3 on aggregate to Monterrey in the quarterfinals.