Theo Walcott knows a thing or two about winning the Emirates Cup.
After helping us overcome Lyon, Celtic and AC Milan to lift the trophy in 2010, the England forward scored the winner against Wolfsburg during our 2015 triumph in N5.
Walcott has the chance to complete a hat-trick of Emirates Cup trophies when the pre-season tournament kicks off again on Saturday, and says it would be the perfect way to build momentum ahead of the 2017/18 Premier League season.
“It’s time to get in the right frame of mind, play against strong teams on a nice pitch, and just do the right things, the things that get you into the team,” he told Arsenal Player. “You want to win as well, to get into the winning habit. We tend to have quite a good record at that.
“We’ve lost the opening game of the season over the past few years I think, so we need to make sure that pattern changes this year. We’re playing against strong teams in all the games we’re playing in pre-season, so there’s no excuse for a slow start.
“This team’s had ups and downs but we need to start well first. Starting well is the main priority and then we’ve got to push on from there.
“The manager has said that right from the first day here: make sure there’s a fast start. That’s why it’s important for us to play these bigger teams in pre-season, to be mentally ready and switched on. We need to get into good habits, that’s the main thing. It’s all about a positive start, and results will make that happen.”
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