Walcott tipped to shine again
Emmanuel Adebayor is backing team-mate Theo Walcott to give Slavia
Prague the run-around again as Arsenal look to secure their place
in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Walcott, 18, marked his first start in Europe's premier club
competition with two goals in an impressive display from a more
central attacking role as the Czechs were crushed 7-0 at Emirates
Stadium a fortnight ago.
The England Under-21 international is expected to feature again at
the Evzena Rosickeho Stadium tonight, where Wenger will rotate his
side.
Former Southampton trainee Walcott was a controversial selection in
Sven-Goran Eriksson's ill-fated World Cup squad last summer after
his big-money move to Arsenal.
Walcott has, though, made rapid progress this season and is now
fully recovered from a shoulder problem which needed surgery over
the summer.
Adebayor is not surprised - and believes there is plenty more to
come from the exciting teenager.
'We all know that Theo is a good player, and we all trust him as
well,' said the Togo striker, who may be rested on the bench
tonight. 'The way he plays, at times it is unbelievable because he
is running from everywhere.
'Theo is very quick and uses his pace very well. Hopefully he can
do that again. He is a player who has got everything. He is still
young and is still learning, but for sure he can do something good
again when we play Slavia.'
Wenger is more than happy with the progress of the attack-minded
youngster.
'Theo is doing well at the moment, like against Sheffield United in
the Carling Cup as well as the first game against Slavia Prague,'
the Arsenal manager said.
'I give him the experience as much as I can, but as well he is very
close to the team. It is another good opportunity for him.'
Wenger elected to rest both 11-goal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and
Alexander Hleb for the trip to the Czech Republic, while defender
Kolo Toure (calf) and Tomas Rosicky (groin) also missed out because
of injury.
Wenger maintained he had no concerns over his selection policy as
Arsenal look to extend their unbeaten run to 26 consecutive
matches, with a draw enough to send the Group H leaders into the
knock-out stages.
'I said before the game against Manchester United that I would
rotate a bit more because we come into a period where it is
needed,' he insisted.
'We have a way to play the game and have 20 players who are very
good, so it does not really matter. When the players need a
breather, I will give them one.'
Wenger added: 'We want to finish the job we have started. We have
nine points, but we know that it is not enough to qualify.
'We will be up for it and we have enough experience in the
Champions League to know all the teams push to the limit.
'If we just think tomorrow we turn up and think 'Well, we won the
first game easily' then we will have a bad surprise.'
