CONFIDENT: Adebayor’s hat-trick led Arsenal to a comfortable three points
HE UMMED and aahed about picking him, but it took just seven minutes for Arsene Wenger to spot the new swagger in Theo Walcott following his hat-trick heroics for England in midweek.[>
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Initially, the Arsenal manager planned to drop the man who scored three against Croatia in Zagreb. But an injury to Samir Nasri meant he was given his start to “give the team the right balance”.[>
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Playing wide on the left, Walcott skipped past Brett Emerton, Danny Simpson and Keith Andrews before setting up Robin van Persie for a straightforward opener. That put Arsenal on their way to as easy a win as they have had for a long time against a team who have perennially been a thorn in their side.[>
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“Theo has come back more confident,” Wenger said. “He’s dangerous and confident. There is a spring in his step. He has talent and a good attitude. Now he must believe in his qualities. What happened to him in Croatia can only make him more confident.”[>
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It is a new world for Walcott – here he is making the headlines even on a day when Emmanuel Adebayor weighed in with a hat-trick to ram home Arsenal’s superiority.[>
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But Walcott is adamant he is not about to get carried away by it all. “It has been a very good week for me,” he said.[>
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“Sometimes it can be quite difficult to come back to your club after an international week. But we’ve shown how strong we are and it’s brilliant for Ade getting his hat-trick, it was fantastic.[>
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“I haven’t looked at any of the media coverage. I think my parents have, but I’ve got away from it all. That’s me, I don’t really get too involved in anything that’s going on, even though I know it’s all good news. I try and keep my feet firmly on the ground.[>
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“Not many people score hat-tricks at international level, but it was a fantastic night for me and the family. And for England as well. It was a brilliant performance, but it was nice to come back and play for Arsenal.[>
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“I’m just going to work hard, take every game as it comes and if I keep on performing well hopefully I can keep my place in the Arsenal team.[>
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“That’s my goal, to cement a place here because there’s so many world-class players it’s difficult. I’m only 19 and it’s a very big step for me, but hopefully I can push on for it.”[>
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Time may be very much on Walcott’s side, but it is working against Wenger as he tries to make his side competitive in a new, cash-rich Premier League.[>
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With Manchester City joining big-spenders Chelsea and Manchester United, January’s transfer window promises to be an interesting period and one, Wenger has noticed, which falls earlier in the season than usual.[>
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“This year, for the first time, the transfer window opens when we have only played half of the championship,” he said. “The second part of the season is longer – we will have only played 19 games by January. I have played seasons here when there were 24 games before then. Teams can get that little bit more balance by buying players in the transfer window.”[>
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Paul Ince and Blackburn do not so much need a change of personnel as an adjustment of attitude. For most of the first half they matched Arsenal, but were too vulnerable at key moments to counter attacks.[>
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Skipper Ryan Nelsen said: “We’re playing some good football and just need to tweak it a bit to get the balance right.[>
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“Cavalier is a good word to describe it. It’s probably my fault and I should get my hands on the reins a bit more, but the guys want to play good football.[>
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“That’s a good attitude. The fact we’ve been successful in the past is because we’ve been tight at the back and we want to get back to that.”[>
