Arsene Wenger revealed that Theo Walcott is still not fully physically fit.
The forward was left at home for the midweek trip to Paris with Wenger saying that he had a ‘minor’ knee problem. Most people just assumed that Theo had been dropped because of his generally woeful form.
Speaking to the press after the match, Wenger said, “He’s getting slowly there. He is not completely ready physically but today I felt in the second half he was much better than the first.
“He has interesting qualities for us. He goes behind, many players like to come to the ball and he’s one of the players who is very dangerous for the quality of his runs and his receptions. I think today in the first half he was influential on the ball.
“He scored one as well, so he’s efficient and that’s what you want.
“Yes [I had faith in Theo], because I look at the overall balance of the team. As I told you, we need players who go behind the defenders and he can do that well. When Sanchez plays up front, he likes to come to the ball.
“To have someone who goes behind at the same moment helps us to have many options.”
It’s no lie that Walcott has been more than a little frustrating over the past year or so. His goal against Hull, his 100th career goal, was his second in five games this season (with one assist).
He has also created six chances (v Ozil’s 9, Cazorla’s 7 and Alexis’ 8), played 5 key passes, and made more interceptions than any of those three (and as many as Ozil and Sanchez combined) pointing towards a new, more hard-working team ethic being deployed by Theo this season.