Arsene Wenger admits he
considered resting Theo Walcott for Arsenal's 4-0 victory at
Blackburn Rovers.
Walcott was in sparkling form for England in midweek as the
teenage attacker grabbed a hat-trick in the World Cup qualifying
win in Croatia.
The temptation to take Walcott out of the spotlight played on
Wenger's mind, but the youngster set up the opener for Robin van
Persie before Emmanuel Adebayor plundered a hat-trick.
Asked if he considered resting Walcott, Wenger told Sky
Sports: "Yes, I rotate the players and I did rest completely
Nicklas Bendtner, who didn't play at all.
"He had a little ankle problem and played two games for Denmark.
We gave some time to Jack Wilshere, 16, and Aaron Ramsey, 17. It's
good we have a young squad, but very talented."
Though there was an emphatic nature to the scoreline at Ewood
Park, Arsenal boss Wenger was also keen to praise his defence.
He added: "I think we did well and it was a good defensive
performance. Just because we scored four goals, you may think it
was all Arsenal, but Blackburn played well.
"They were dangerous as well going forward and we had to defend
very well, especially on crosses in the first half.
"The second goal before half-time certainly was a big blow for
them and, after that, three and four came logically."
Wenger also believes his players are starting to hit their
stride this season after making it three wins in a row in all
competitions.
"I believe that fluency is one of our strengths and to be
clinical was very important today," he continued.
"We have found slowly our rhythm and our pace. We scored four
against Twente, three against Newcastle and four today and we
slowly get confident and physically ready to play."