Wenger: Theo forcing his way in
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he soon may have little option but to start Theo Walcott on a regular basis.
The 17-year-old England starlet came off the bench for the second match running in last night’s Champions League qualifying tie.
Walcott’s injection of pace helped turned a draw into victory, setting up Mathieu Flamini for a stoppage-time tap-in as the Gunners came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory on the night and book their place in today’s draw for the group stages.
It could have been a much worse scenario facing the Arsenal manager heading into the closing stages had Zagreb converted any more of their chances to add to Eduardo’s early goal, with Freddie Ljungberg eventually heading in an equaliser before Walcott’s late cameo.
Wenger knows it is only a matter of time before the former Southampton trainee forces himself into his first 11.
“When he comes on you see he can make a difference because of his penetrating power and his speed,” Wenger noted.
“However, you also see that sometimes in some movements he is still a bit young so you have to give him time to lose that slowly and of course to come out with his strengths, but in the last two games he brought two goals.”
