More than 10 years on from his Arsenal debut, Theo Walcott is now due a testimonial, although at just 27 years old he is unlikely to want one. It has always felt with Walcott that his best is just around the corner, but this season he looks more determined than ever to get there. Arsenal play Southampton on Saturday, the seventh time that he has faced them as an Arsenal player. Southampton have certainly changed in the decade since Walcott left, becoming regular Premier League overachievers and clever recruiters of players and coaches. Walcott will face a version of the same question: how much has he developed and improved since leaving for Arsenal at 17? Clearly Walcott has done well at Arsenal, racking up 347 appearances, scoring 86 goals and winning the 2015 FA Cup. Given how many talented teenagers fall away, his 10 years at a top club is testament to his professionalism and focus. And yet there is still a sense of something so far unfulfilled with Walcott. Injuries have held him back when he was close to his best form and he has struggled to turn himself into the most important, consistent player at the club.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still just 23 years old and has been at Arsenal for half as long as Walcott. Like Walcott, he moved from St Mary’s to the Emirates at 17. He was a talented all-round sportsman whose physical development came later than most. But soon enough he was playing Southampton, then Arsenal, then England, before his football understanding had time to catch up. Like Walcott, then, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s talent was more obvious than his best role in a team. Like Walcott, he has been unfortunate with injuries holding him back just as he found rhythm and form. But he has not produced as much as was hoped. Earlier this year Arsenal were open to offers for him. There are parallels between Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, and also with Calum Chambers. He will not be facing his old club on Saturday as he is now out on loan at Middlesbrough. He, too, made his England debut as a teenager, before finding life at Arsenal harder than expected. Wenger started Chambers in 17 league games in his first season, but just two last year.

When Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chambers have all found it difficult to reach their potential at Arsenal, to say nothing of Kieran Gibbs or Jack Wilshere, it raises questions about the common factor between them. There is a widely-held theory in the game that Arsene Wenger is a coach more focused on cultural development than individual development. He works to create an open positive empowering environment, where players are free to express themselves, and trusted to learn from their mistakes. It is not an environment dominated by vocal senior players. It is not an environment driven by intense individualised prescriptive coaching.