THEO Walcott's hat-trick in Croatia came as no surprise to Arsene Wenger and he insists there is more to come – but the Arsenal manager has warned against expecting a similar display every time the teenager pulls on an England shirt.
"I am not surprised because he is a player who has good timing with his runs and is a clinical finisher who can score goals," said Wenger, "I always believed he will be a fantastic player and I was never concerned. For me, most of all is that he con
tinues to develop as a team player. What happened (in Zagreb] we have to consider to be an exception. Even for players of 25, 26 to score three goals in an international game is a one-off."
Wenger added: "At the start of the season Theo had made a step forward and you could see that in training. Theo has become more of a man and more mature in his game, developed his link play, his first touch, his commitment – and there is still a lot to come from 19 to 23 years old."
Wenger believes Walcott can develop into a central striker, but for the moment is happy enough for the youngster to learn his trade on the flanks. "He can play down the middle, but at the moment, I do not believe he is ready," he said. "He is still learning his job on the right or the left, sometimes through the middle – but block him against the line and then show us you can do it because that makes it easier for us in the middle."
The full article contains 275 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
