Arsenal have gone more than 20 years without a Premier League title but former Gunners forward Theo Walcott believes they have the squad to compete domestically and in Europe
Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott believes Mikel Arteta’s side are serious contenders to win the Champions League as well as the Premier League – and has backed Viktor Gyokeres to show his worth along the way.
Walcott was part of title challenges under Arsene Wenger and he recognises this season might be the Gunners’ best chance to get that elusive league title after arriving at a point where both Liverpool and Manchester City are playing catch-up. “I do feel like they’re more equipped to win the Champions League this year than they ever have [been] as well, which then believes they could win the league as well for me,” Walcott said ahead of Tuesday’s European clash against Atletico Madrid.
He isn’t ruling out Manchester City, arguing Pep Guardiola’s side have “got a big question to ask,” but believes Arsenal still have room for improvement themselves. The most important thing for Walcott is Arsenal’s depth, and the willingness of players to bide their time when not starting. Previous title campaigns were derailed by injuries to key players but he sees that as less of an issue now – even with Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz currently sidelined.
“You look at Man City, their best teams when they won the league on the numerous occasions, they’ve always had the second player come in, he’s better than the first, pretty much, and that tends to be the pattern [at Arsenal] at the moment,” he added. “Myles Lewis-Skelly can’t get a game at this moment in time.
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“We’re talking about England’s up-and-coming left-back, he can’t even get into the team. He’s found it difficult for minutes, which isn’t a bad thing because you see a different side of a player, how they react…
“I think it’s important Mikel’s probably monitored that, and the harmony is fine. That’s one thing that could disrupt it, when you bring an amount of players, but essentially, they all understand they needed the help, they couldn’t just constantly rely on the likes of [Bukayo] Saka and Odegaard and people like that.”
One player who hasn’t quite hit top gear just yet is Gyokeres, but Walcott isn’t as down on the £64million striker as some other pundits. “Maybe he could get a bit more aggressive at times, he could use his body even more because I think he’s got it in him, but I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen,” Walcott said.
“He could well be the difference in just occupying defences in a different way. And again, he’s a goal threat in set pieces, which is obviously the main key, the main Arsenal battle.
“A lot of people spoke about him not scoring a lot of goals, but for me, he’s creating chances, he’s creating havoc, he’s creating chances for other people, he’s getting the best out of other players. When you have players that are unselfish, he does his unselfish runs, and it keeps on doing it, he doesn’t stop, that’s a good player for me.”
Walcott has been especially impressed with the way Gyokeres has been able to help get the best out of his team-mates, even when not scoring himself. “When I say he’s a problem, he likes to put the centre halves on the back foot, he likes to go and be high and it gives more access to freedom for the likes of [Ebere] Eze and Saka because he’s basically occupying a couple of defenders,” he said.
“Mikel’s already said as well, he likes to destroy centre halves. And even if he’s not scoring goals, he’s still a problem for me. He’s the difference of Arsenal not drawing as many. I think that’s the difference going into the Premier League.”
He isn’t convinced the Atleti game will be the one where Gyokeres can show his best qualities in front of goal, though, if only due to the way Diego Simeone’s side often sets up away from home. “We all watch Atletico [and] we know what to expect from them,” Walcott added.
“They’re solid, they frustrate. But having said that, they’ll be very tidy at set pieces. So there’s not many weaknesses in there in the defensive structure for me, so that’s why when I say Arsenal and Atletico are similar, that’s what I mean – they’re very similar in those circumstances where they actually all work together in a defensive structure.
“It’ll be interesting if [Arteta] allows them to have a ball a lot more and maybe sit back from them, and be a bit of a stalemate. That’s why I’m saying It’s going to be an interesting dynamic to understand the flow of the game, because Atletico are comfortable just not having the ball. They don’t mind. They want to go to Arsenal and get a draw like they [tried] with Liverpool, they want to try and get a result like that.
“I don’t think they really go into many games, particularly away from home, to win it. At home they’re solid. obviously they’ve dominated recently and they’ve scored a lot of goals, which surprises a lot. However, it’s the personnel where Arsenal, where it’s not working… you can try something different, because they have those options.”
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
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