Theo Walcott, who himself was impressive and enjoyed a good game, has publicly said he felt Arsenal’s team effort overpowered Chelsea and consequently lead to a convincing 3-0 home victory at the Emirates.

It was Walcott’s 350th Arsenal appearance, one which he marked with a well-taken finish to double the lead at the end of an excellent passing move in the final third.

Walcott has started the season off well, surprising many critics who suggested his time at the Emirates was gradually coming to a halt. | Photo: Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Walcott has started the season off well, surprising many critics who suggested his time at the Emirates was gradually coming to a halt. | Photo: Paul Gilham / Getty Images

As quoted by FourFourTwo, Walcott told BT Sport the following in a post-match press interview:

“We worked really hard in the week. We obviously know what’s happened in the past but it’s all about now. This team is bright and young and has a lot more experience in these games now.”

“Everyone is focused and you could see that – 11 men who wanted to win this more than the other team.”

Walcott said that he’d also seen an encouraging show of determination amongst his team-mates during the hard-fought draw away against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. As he wasn’t involved in the matchday squad and didn’t travel, he watched the group stage fixture at home but suggested that a number of years’ experience at a high level of competition is starting to pay dividends for an Arsenal side that have struggled against Europe’s elite in the past few seasons.

“The most important thing was that we kept 11 men on the pitch, we know our history with Chelsea.”

Walcott will be hoping for similar individual performances like his display against Chelsea, with competition for places continuing to crank up as strength in depth continues to improve.