Walcott: criticism does not faze me

THEO WALCOTT insists he won’t listen to his critics and has blamed his poor form this season on a horrendous run of injuries.

The Arsenal winger has failed to hit the heights this season, with Chris Waddle savaging his performance in England’s 3-1 victory over Egypt last Wednesday, claiming Walcott ‘doesn’t have a football brain’.

But Walcott answered Waddle in the best possible fashion against Burnley on Saturday, scoring the second goal and giving full-back Daniel Fox a torrid afternoon.

And the 20-year-old is adamant the best is yet to come from him as he focuses on tomorrow night’s vital Champions League last 16 clash with Porto, in which Arsenal are 2-1 down from the away leg.

“I heard what has been going on and what he (Waddle) said, but I don’t listen to people on the outside of football,” said Walcott. “I listen to people around me – Arsene Wenger, Fabio Capello and my family.

“Criticism doesn’t bother me whatsoever. Maybe if I keep performing like that it will shut people up.

“And I’ve had so many injuries this season, people don’t realise how hard it is to come back from setback after setback after setback. Hopefully this is a kick-start for me.”

And Walcott has admitted that the pressure and expectation that he has been under since being called up for the 2006 World Cup before even playing in the Premier League has hampered his progress.

“The thing is I’m always the country’s biggest hope or the country’s biggest disappointment,” he said. “You set standards for yourself and you want to be as good as you can every single game, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way. At such a young age, getting the World Cup thrust on you straight away without playing in the Premier League is very difficult to cope with. There is definitely more to come from me.”