Walcott calls for Gunners to show belief

Theo Walcott, who has finally ended a year-long saga by signing a new contract at the Emirates, may be only 23 but he has packed an awful lot into his football career already; enough, he says, to know his Arsenal team-mates simply don’t realise how good they can be.

Walcott’s decision to pledge his future to the club has been one of the more positive moments of an Arsenal season that has once again fluctuated from good to bad with alarming regularity.

So now, as Arsene Wenger’s side — beaten at Chelsea at the weekend following a miserable first-half display — face a home game against West Ham tomorrow night they cannot afford to lose, Thomas Vermaelen and company could do worse than listen to the young striker’s analysis.

Walcott, of course, has felt what it is like for others to doubt his potential. Ever since arriving from Southampton he has been judged by the standards he set when he was selected for England’s World Cup squad at the age of 17 and then when he scored a hat-trick against Croatia aged 19.

More often than not the verdict has been unfavourable. His final ball, his decision making, his lack of progress were all criticised and there were plenty of Arsenal fans who found him more frustrating than exhilarating; some even booed. But since he scored twice in a 5-2 victory over Tottenham last season that began an Arsenal revival, Walcott’s improvement has accelerated. There are still rough edges but his finishing — as exemplified by a superbly-taken effort on Sunday that led even Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech to tell him ‘great finish’ — is now unquestioned; and his choice of pass and awareness of others shows signs of maturity.

“I’ve been happy with the last couple of seasons, to be honest. But this season I’ve been able to be more consistent, score goals and enjoy the big occasions,” said Walcott in his first interview since agreeing a new three-and-a-half year contract worth €120,000 a week.

“But the sort of person that I am is one who would rather not score if it means the team wins. I know what Arsenal should be and that’s why I committed myself to them for the long term.

“So we need to start realising how good we are. I think there’s a lack of belief as to how good we can be. I think players don’t believe they are good enough at times. But, trust me, I see them every day in training and they should believe that. This is a big game coming up. It’s our game in hand, we have to get three points and, no disrespect to West Ham, we should win it. We need to be positive.”

If anyone knows the value in believing in yourself then it is Walcott, who must have been hurt by some of the barbs thrown his way during an elongated negotiation process over a new contract that left him open to accusations of greed and ungratefulness.

“It has been tough,” he admitted. “Not just for me but for my family, my partner; they were all getting hit with it every week and every day. But I’ve dealt with it and I think that shows I’ve matured as a man. Now I want to pay back everyone that has been faithful to me. I’m ready for that battle.”

It certainly could be a battle. Arsenal are 22 points behind leaders Manchester United and seven adrift of fourth-placed Spurs, which brings back memories of last season.

“Last year, we were so many points behind no-one ever thought we would make it, but we did,” said Walcott. “I feel we can and should be in the top four. So the gap doesn’t worry us — we can’t worry about Spurs. We hope they do drop points, but we’ve got to concentrate on ourselves. We’ve got a big game on Wednesday and we have to pick ourselves up.”

Spoken like a true veteran.