Theo Walcott has compared new signing Alexandre Lacazette with Bournemouth striker Jemain Defoe.

  • Walcott says Lacazette and Defoe have similar qualities
  • He believes the Arsenal squad is strong
  • He hailed the amount of pace in the Arsenal team

It’s a risky game comparing a new signing with a former Spurs striker, but even the most ardent of Arsenal fans can probably admit that Defoe has been a very good Premier League striker over the years.

Theo Walcott believes that Lacazette has similar attributes to the Bournemouth striker, saying:

“He reminds me a bit of Jermain Defoe in that he sees the target, shoots and scores.”

Those are always good things for a striker to have.

Walcott went on to say that he believes the squad is looking in good shape.

“That’s what I’ve seen of him in little clips, so hopefully he can bring those attributes to the team. There’s loads of competition for places which is healthy as always, but we’re looking strong.”

He’s also happy with the amount of pace in the Arsenal squad.

“Pace in the Premier League is the most important thing for me.

“It’s hard because a lot of teams drop back, sit back against us and it’s tight because there’s not a lot of space in behind.

“You have to find different ways of breaking them down but that’s why you’ve got all these clever players like Mesut to get through them differently. Pace is always a threat.

“When you’re counter-attacking, it wins all the time. As long as we’ve got pace in this team, we’re going to be OK.”

Lacazette will add even more pace to the Arsenal, while hopefully also providing the movement to stretch and outsmart those deep and annoying Premier League defences.