Wenger: Chelsea and Liverpool target can play up front, hopefully with us
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Theo Walcott has the ability to play as a centre forward and hopes that it is with the Gunners.
The 23-year-old was superb for the north Londoners, scoring a hat-trick as they came from 4-0 down at Reading to win 7-5 after extra time.
And Wenger believes Walcott’s positioning in the box is the hallmark of a great predatory striker.
“He was superb [against Reading],” the Frenchman said.
“I always said that he will be a striker so we are on the same wavelengths there because he is a good finisher, as shown by the way he scored the first goal.
“I believe he knows where to be in the box on the rebounds.
“I like that because that’s a quality of a striker that you can’t give to anybody.
Most Read
- 1 Islington: Cycle track could be back if funding found
- 2 'Graffiti vandal' linked with £500k worth of damage caught in Highbury
- 3 Five arrested for drugs offences after dawn raids
- 4 'Fear, isolation and distress': Pentonville Prison during Covid-19
- 5 How mental health services are changing in north London
- 6 WATCH: Sauna fire rips through Old Street leisure centre
- 7 Knifeman was out on bail when he nearly killed father-of-three on school run
- 8 Supermarkets issue urgent product recall after salmonella found in products
- 9 Protesters march in final attempt to prevent incinerator contract
- 10 New Islington chief wants to give children 'equal opportunities'
“You either feel it or you don’t and he has the qualities to play there.”
Walcott is out of contract in the summer and has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool.
But the Frenchman is keen to tie down his forward to a new deal.
“That’s what I hope,” Wenger added. “I always said I wanted to keep him.
“Apart from the contract talks, you have to give him credit for the way he has committed [himself in training] and the way he behaves.”
