Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 7y

Arsenal's Theo Walcott 'more complete player' than before - Arsene Wenger

LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists Theo Walcott has become "a more complete player" this season, despite the winger being snubbed by England on his birthday.

England coach Gareth Southgate had no place for Walcott in his squad for next week's friendly against Germany and World Cup qualifier against Lithuania, even though he has netted 17 goals for Arsenal in all competitions this season. That includes Arsenal's opener in their 5-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and goals in their last two FA Cup games.

However, Wenger said that Walcott, who turned 28 on Thursday, has taken a big step in his development this term.

"He has become more of a complete player, more efficient," he told a news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion. "He does better in the tactical part of his game and works hard defensively and offensively.

"He has turned up in big games as well, he can score goals in big games. He showed that against Bayern, he scored the goal and I think it was a penalty on him and he can influence games."

Walcott has flourished after returning to his old position on the right wing after a couple of seasons where he was often deployed as a striker with mixed success.

After struggling for playing time during the second half of last season and being left out of England's squad for Euro 2016, he had a conversation with Wenger in the summer where he told the manager he wanted to go back to being a winger.

Wenger praised Walcott for having the self-awareness to realise he needed to change something in order to get back to his best.

"Always in life you try and get to the next level when things don't go for you, or you think you do everything right and continue to live like you did before," Wenger said. "And he had the right response. He said, 'what do I need to do to get higher up?' and he did it.

"I was always convinced, because of the quality of his runs, that he was a central striker. He was for a while as well, but he made up his mind during the summer break and he feels more comfortable on the right.

"He is fair, he said if you give me the choice I would prefer to play on the right but if you want I will play through the middle. [Right wing] is his preferred position and it is true that it is where he is most efficient."

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