Wenger: Wing role suits Walcott
Arsene Wenger is convinced teenager Theo Walcott has all the attributes to spearhead Arsenal’s attack but he will not ask the highly-rated youngster to fill that role against Portsmouth at Emirates Stadium on Sunday – or the near future.
Gunners boss Wenger is likely to restore the front-line partnership of Dutchman Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor for the visit of Pompey despite Eduardo’s first Arsenal goal in the 3-0 Champions League qualifier triumph over Sparta Prague on Wednesday and Walcott’s brilliant first half display on the right wing in that match.
He said: “The quality Theo has can be decisive. He’s very direct and quick and he’s improving his link-play and is more aggressive now.
“Once he plays through the middle he can be very dangerous. He has the quality to make good runs behind the defenders. So in the future, certainly, he will be a central striker.
“He can make a difference because in England you have not many strikers with his qualities. He is so quick that defenders feel if they are even one yard behind him they will never catch him back.
“But it’s good for him to still learn the job on the flank and improve his short game nearer the touchline.”
Wenger was disappointed – but not entirely surprised – that Walcott faded somewhat in the second half against Sparta.
The former Southampton player is still just 18 but this season looks a stronger player than the one too easily muscled out of contention last term.
He will probably revert to the substitutes’ bench against Pompey, with Alex Hleb returning on the right as Wenger looks set to ring the changes having made in six midweek from the team which beat Manchester City last Saturday.
French full-back Bacary Sagna looks set to return from a back injury and Cesc Fabregas is certain to start after even a brief substitutes’ role against Sparta did not restrict him from scoring his third goal in four games.
Fabregas said: “I am happy to help the strikers by scoring some goals. I’m delighted with that but I have another function in the team really which I’m glad to fulfil.
“We have started the season well. We are still unbeaten and through to the group stage in the Champions League again which is so important.
“We’ll go game-by-game now and not think about any targets yet but I could see from the bench how comfortable the players are on the ball.
“It was important to get the second goal against Sparta because they were pressing hard from the beginning of the second half and now we must focus on getting in front and then killing games off.”
Skipper William Gallas (knee) and keeper Jens Lehmann (Achilles) are still unlikely to return at the weekend but Wenger admits another secure performance from Manuel Almunia – who has kept two consecutive clean sheets – will give him a selection problem between the posts when the German international is fully fit again.
