Theo Walcott... keen to take his chance in a central role
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By Chris Harris
Arsenal must learn to grind out results if they want to win silverware, according to Theo Walcott.
The England international has plenty of fond memories of the 2008/09 campaign after scoring a hat-trick for his country in Croatia and nailing down a first-team spot at Emirates Stadium. But he ended the season empty-handed after Semi-Final defeats in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Arsenal played some dazzling football last term but Manchester United and Chelsea proved too strong when it mattered most. Walcott is confident of putting that right - but only if Arsenal are prepared to scrap when they need to.
"I think we need to do the dirty things right," he told Arsenal.com.
"Sometimes it's not just about pretty football, we need to grind out the results sometimes and get the win, get the three points. In cup competitions no one remembers the game, as long as the result is right. We need to take that into our game. Manchester United and Chelsea do the dirty work and they take their chances as well, that's another thing we need to learn and improve on.
"We had a great experience of getting to Semi-Finals last season but not quite getting to Finals. Hopefully we can put that right."
Walcott has spent much of his fledgling Arsenal career on the right flank but he has always harboured hopes of playing through the middle. You can understand why - Walcott has pace to burn, his finishing has improved and he can make runs in behind the defence. Walcott believes he could get his chance in a central role this season.
"The boss said hopefully he will start to put me up front now and then," he said. "That's my natural position but I'd play anywhere for this team.
"I want to improve my final ball and score more goals. You get judged on goals so I want to score 15-plus this season. That would be nice. I love making runs in behind, I love scoring goals and making goals. That's what I'll be judged on and I'm looking forward to that."
[Friday, July 17, 2009]
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