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Walcott - Alexis gets the best out of us

Theo Walcott says Alexis Sanchez’s incredible work-rate has seen the whole Arsenal squad up their games.

The Chile international was recently described by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as being like a “Duracell bunny” because of his high energy levels.

Walcott completely agrees and says the team’s top scorer is getting the very best out of his team-mates.

“You see somebody working so hard and it makes you want to try to back him up,” the England international told Arsenal Player.

“When you see what he does off the pitch, behind the scenes at the training ground, and how much work he puts in, all the players just stand up and think ‘Yeah, I need to a bit more as well then’.

"We told him during the Christmas period to relax a little bit, but he still cracked on with his gym work!"

Walcott on Alexis

“It’s about getting that balance right. We told him during the Christmas period to relax a little bit, but he still cracked on with his gym work! He’s that sort of person - nothing will make him tired. It’s healthy to see, because the Premier League is very fast, but he’s coped with it fine.

“He is amazing because he spots things that a lot of players won’t. I tend to make my runs off the ball and he is always looking for that. He drags more players on to him, which creates more space for other people and I do the same thing.

“It is a great balance and once I am fully fit, I think it is going to be some force for the Premier League to handle.”

Walcott has been similarly impressed with Danny Welbeck’s impact and feels this may be the club’s strongest attacking line-up since his arrival in 2006.

“Danny is a workaholic as well - he runs around and really works for the team,” he said. “There are so many options and Alex [Oxlade-Chamberlain] is also doing very well.

“Obviously there is me as well coming back, and then you have the likes of Aaron and Jack in midfield. The list goes on, that’s how good we are going forward. It is a headache for the manager when you have that many great attacking options.

“When I came, it was Pires and Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Thierry and Reyes - that’s some attacking force as well. I think this squad probably does beat it, but we need to prove it first.

“[When] we go and achieve a little bit more than winning the FA Cup, then I think we can stand up and say this is the best attacking line up we’ve ever had.”

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