adminside head into tonight’s London derby against West Ham on the back of successive league defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea which have left their bid to qualify for the Champions League in crisis.
The Gunners, languishing in sixth spot, trail fourth-placed Tottenham by seven points and sit 11 points adrift of third-placed Chelsea.
Failure to book a place in Europe’s elite competition would be a devastating blow to a club already in decline after over seven years without a trophy and victory over West Ham is essential to keep that bid alive and, just as importantly, restore a little belief among disillusioned fans and anxious players.
Walcott, who scored in Sunday’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea, agrees with Wenger that Arsenal have played too timidly in recent weeks and he called on the players to show more aggression and desire.
“There are a lot of teams that have got stronger this year, so we need to step on the gas. We don’t want to be playing catch-up. We want to get points on the board,” Walcott said.
“We have a tough game at home against West Ham so we need to be ready. It is a massive game, we have home support and we need to start clocking up points there.
“We have been hot and cold at home of late so we must be very positive and if we show the commitment that we did in the second half against Chelsea we should be fine.
“We need to show that character to win from the start, not when we concede a goal.”
If Arsenal are to win their game in hand on Tottenham, they need a big performance from England international Walcott, who last week ended months of speculation about his future by agreeing a new contract.
Walcott was linked with several clubs as the end of his contract approached, but Arsenal’s desire to hold on to the winger after a host of star sales over the last 18 months forced the Gunners to give him a three and a half year deal, pushing his wages close to £100 000.
The 23-year-old, who was back on the wing against Chelsea after playing in his preferred central striker role for several weeks, revealed it was difficult to concentrate while his future remained in doubt.
“For the last three games before Chelsea the contract was sort of done, but it was on my mind and had been for a long time because it was so close,” Walcott said.
“It is difficult to play and block out that side of it, but I tried to do the best I could and hopefully everyone was happy with what I did.
“I always wanted to stay and I am happy that myself and the club have come to an agreement.
“There has been so much speculation and I am very pleased my future is sorted. It is all about the present now.”
The main threat to Arsenal’s hopes of a much-needed win is likely to come from West Ham playmaker Joe Cole.
The former Chelsea and Liverpool star is in his second spell with the Hammers and scored his first goal for the club in 10 years on Saturday to earn a 1-1 draw against QPR.
West Ham will be without Morocco forward Marouane Chamakh, who is ineligible to play as he is on loan from Arsenal, but Cole still believes they can end a disappointing run of one win in seven league games.
“You can have difficult moments in the season and if you can pick up points in the difficult moments you do all right,” he said.
“Let’s focus on the next game at Arsenal. We want to take something from that, then you go from there.
“We’ve just got to go there and stifle Arsenal a little bit and then maybe we can do something.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists they never made an offer for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
The Gunners were strongly linked with a move for Zaha after watching him on several occasions with Wenger confirming he was keeping tabs on the England international.
Zaha is poised to join Manchester United before the close of the transfer window, but Wenger is adamant he was never interested in the midfielder and is not worried about the prospect of him moving to Old Trafford.
“If Zaha goes to Man Utd, good luck to him. We were never in for him. Never,” said Wenger.
Wenger admits the club are working hard on bringing in some reinforcements this month, but he refused to divulge any transfer targets.
“I will not give you any names. We are working very hard,” added Wenger.
Wenger did hint at having an interest in West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame, admitting he rates the former Wigan man highly.
“He has a great presence in the games, I have seen him have a big impact,” he said.
And Wenger revealed yesterday his faith in German economic efficiency by saying it was the reason why defender Per Mertesacker had become the club’s debt collector.
Asked why the Germany international was responsible for rounding up fines from fellow players who fell foul of the club’s internal disciplinary rules, Wenger joked: “The Germans do well economically and we respect that.
“They are the only ones that make money in Europe. That’s why we’ve chosen a German,” the Frenchman added of the 85-times capped Mertesacker.
Wenger found himself commenting on the Gunners’ disciplinary policy after a document, printed on Arsenal headed paper, detailing a list of rules for players players and the cash penalties if they were broken appeared on the internet after a fan, reported to be a friend of club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, took a photo of the fines sheet during a tour of the training ground.
The supporter then posted it on a file-sharing website, believing it would be seen only by himself and his close friends, only for the document to go ‘viral’ across the net. — AFP.
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