Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Theo Walcott's
injury problems could be related to the mistimed tackles on him
caused by his searing pace.
Walcott turned in a fine individual display as he helped himself
to a double in the Gunners' 4-0 Carling Cup victory at Newcastle,
which booked their place in the quarter-finals.
It was his first start since his return from an injury suffered
on England duty and Wenger looked on with fingers crossed as he
rode a series of committed challenges with no ill-effects. Wenger
is not insisting that opposition players are out to get Walcott,
but that the 21-year-old cops accidental kicks by players
misjudging his lightning speed.
Wenger said: "At his pace, when you get stopped, you are always
vulnerable. Tonight, he got one or two tackles and he got away with
it because he did not have his full weight on his standing leg. But
against Switzerland, for example, what can you do? He is not
vulnerable because of his injuries, it was a tackle. When you play
against a player who is so quick, sometimes you can mistime
tackles. It's not necessarily always that you want to hit him, but
he is so quick that you think, 'Now I can get the ball', and it has
gone away.''
soccernet.