Arsenal’s Theo Walcott closes on return to ‘fastest top-flight forward line’
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Version 0 of 1. Theo Walcott believes he will return from a cruciate knee ligament injury as an even quicker player to take his place in an Arsenal team who now have the capacity to make opponents dizzy. The England winger suffered the long-term problem in the FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 4 January and he said he would be out for a minimum of nine months. The 25-year-old says he will not be back for the Premier League derby against Tottenham at the Emirates on 27 September but he is happy to report that he is talking in terms of “weeks rather than months” for his comeback. The hope is that he will be fully fit after the international break in the middle of next month. Walcott has sought the silver lining to the injury that ruled him out of Arsenal’s FA Cup final victory over Hull City at the end of last season and England’s World Cup campaign in Brazil. He has worked on building the strength in his legs as never before and he feels he is primed to bolster an attack that now features the pace of the summer signings Alexis Sánchez and Danny Welbeck. “I hope to be quicker, definitely,” Walcott said, speaking at Sportwaves, a charity exhibition and auction for the national charity, Willow. “You’ve got to look at these injuries as a bit of a blessing at times. I was able to be there for the birth of my son, Finley [in April] and, also, I’ve never had the opportunity to work on the strength in my legs. With that, I think I should be quicker and stronger.” Walcott has, for several years, been the fastest player at Arsenal, having beaten Thierry Henry’s record over 40 metres. He said that the young right-back Héctor Bellerin had recently surpassed him. “Hector is claiming it by one hundredth of a second, with wind assistance,” Walcott said, jokingly. “That was a couple of weeks ago.” He intends to reclaim the bragging rights when he returns to sprinting, which will be the final phase of his rehabilitation. “I’m all about positive thinking,” Walcott said. “The injury was always going to take nine months. I feel good within myself. “I’ve got a thing for legs now. I keep looking at legs! My legs have bulked up and I see a different side to legs. It’s a bit weird. When you have the operation, your legs are different because you losea lot of muscle but it changes as the time passes, so you feel it’s going to work because you feel fitter and stronger. “I haven’t put a date on my comeback. There were rumours of the Spurs game, which is definitely not going to happen. I’ll definitely be back for the derby in February. It’s weeks rather than months now, which is a nice feeling.” Walcott has felt the excitement at Arsenal that has built after Arsène Wenger broke his spending record for a transfer window. The most eye-catching additions have been those of Sánchez and Welbeck, who have joined for a combined £47m. “I hope we’ll have the fastest forward line in the Premier League,” Walcott said. “We can build on the FA Cup win and attract these great players to the club. It will hopefully put Arsenal where we should be – winning trophies. “It’s a massive buzz around the club. Alexis has settled in very quickly and Danny is a good guy, who I know from England. It has been well-documented over the years that we haven’t spent as much but Arsenal are doing it in the right way. We are spending it wisely. The boss knows what he is doing. He also likes to work with young players, not just bring in expensive players for the sake of it.” Theo Walcott features in the Sportwaves exhibition and auction, raising funds for Willow. Walcott’s artwork is available to bid for online until 14 September at *sportwaves.org* Theo Walcott is an ambassador for Willow - the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults, aged 16 to 40, to fulfil uplifting and unforgettable Special Days. |