Walcott wants to play out wide
Theo Walcott has held talks with Arsene Wenger in a bid to reignite his Arsenal career.
|||Theo Walcott has held talks with Arsene Wenger in a bid to reignite his Arsenal career.
When Arsenal went to Kuala Lumpur on a pre-season tour five years ago, Walcott stated his ambition to become a centre forward but things have not worked out for the England international.
He has not made double figures in goals since the 2012-13 season and the recent tour to the States has ended with Walcott stating his wish to return to a wide role.
Given that Wenger is pursuing Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette and already has Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud as his main strikers, Walcott has recognised the importance of being versatile if he wants to play regularly.
Competition for places this season is going to be fiercer than ever and Walcott, 27, knows what is at stake. ‘There is always competition for places,’ he said. ‘I always believe that I can get back to where I want to be. I’m sure if I keep working hard then I will get there.’
Asked what role he sees himself playing, Walcott replied: ‘That’s a question for the manager. I have told the manager that I want to be known for playing on the right again. I know I can do a job up front as well as on the right but I want to make my position on the right.’
The last campaign ended with his performances fiercely criticised by his own fans and he missed out on England’s Euro 2016 squad. But he returned to training early in a bid to hit the ground running and is in no mood to reflect on what happened.
‘Is there any need to go on about the past?’ said Walcott. ‘We should be looking at the players who have come in and we want to do something different this year.
‘We can’t be dwelling on this silly trophy (title) drought. We have to forget about that. We won the FA Cup twice. We have to forget about that as well. It is a massive year for the club.
‘We know what we need to do. Tottenham had their best season last year and we finished second. Let’s be honest, we didn’t perform but we managed to finish second. We have got to make sure we are at it every game now.’
Meanwhile, Wenger’s preparations for the new season have suffered a blow with Jack Wilshere a major doubt for the tour to Norway and Sweden following his latest knee injury. Arsenal are confident the England midfielder will be ready for the opening weeks of the season, however.
Speaking after last weekend’s win over Chivas in Los Angeles, Wenger said Wilshere would travel to Norway and Sweden for the pre-season games against Viking FK and Manchester City.
But Sportsmail understands Wenger is now considering leaving Wilshere in London for treatment.
The Arsenal manager has been told he can take his spending to over £100million this summer as he plots moves for Shkodran Mustafi and Lacazette.
Arsenal would look to offset the spending by selling Mathieu Debuchy or Kieran Gibbs this summer but neither will be sold until defensive reinforcements are in place. – Daily Mail