Wenger praises Theo Arsene Wenger

LONDON. – Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger praised Theo Walcott’s goalscoring instinct after the England man struck to beat Wolfsburg 1-0 and clinch the Emirates Cup for the Gunners. Wenger admits he is still struggling to decide Walcott’s best position – over nine years after signing him from Southampton. He admitted that neither he nor the player really know Walcott’s best position – over nine years after he moved from Southampton for £5 million.

Walcott (26) began Sunday’s match in the central striking role he enjoys but finished up on the left wing after the introduction of Olivier Giroud as a substitute.

And Wenger suggested that Walcott’s favourite role would be in a 4-4-2 system – which Arsenal never play.

“It’s a complicated answer,” said Wenger. “If you ask him where he loves to play, even he is not certain.

“When I played him sometimes on the left, he likes it as well, because when he makes a good run he can score.”

“In the middle, I think in his idea he would like to play off a physically strong player. But we have so many offensive players that it’s hard to combine all these players together.”

“But I’ve always said that he’s a goalscorer, because he has the movement and the timing and speed of finishing.

“He has an eye for taking his chances at the right moment and when he gets in positions, he can finish well.

“He lives by the quality of his movement. He turns up in the right space in the box. You cannot give that to a player.”

Wenger said that the club and player are “getting closer and closer” to agreeing a new four-year contract.

Walcott pounced five minutes into the second half yesterday, guiding home a pass from impressive 17-year-old Jeff Reine-Adelaide with the outside of his right foot.

And Petr Cech kept a clean sheet on his home debut to give Wenger’s men a perfect four pre-season wins in four matches ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield meeting with Chelsea.

But Wenger said: “Pre-season is to prepare to be efficient in the Premier League, so come back in a month. But it has gone well so far.

“Cech is a good communicator and brings a calmness in the way he responds to situations. He will lift the confidence of our defenders.”

Man City target Kevin De Bruyne saw plenty of the ball but last-season’s Bundesliga runners-up are not encouraging bids and the Belgian fluffed his best chance with a shot over the bar.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta says the Arsenal squad believe they “are capable of achieving something important”.

The club captain lifted the Emirates Cup on Sunday after Walcott’s winner against Wolfsburg secured a fourth straight pre-season victory.

Wenger’s side have impressed in those matches, scoring 14 goals and conceding just one. Arteta believes a high level of cohesion has underpinned the team’s convincing start to the campaign.

“We have been together a while now and we have this belief now that we are capable of achieving something important,” he told Arsenal Player. “It took some time to build this cohesion, this momentum.

“I think the crowd is feeling much closer to the team at the moment and together we can make it.

“I think pre-season has been good. The tour in Singapore was great as well, probably the best we have had.

“Here, the opponents were tough but we managed to play well and win both games.” —AFP.

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