Wenger – Why next five years are ‘crucial’ for Walcott

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that Theo Walcott’s maturity at a young age helped his career development.

The English forward is closing in on 10 years with the Gunners next week and has become a regular in the Arsenal side under Arsene Wenger.

Walcott is also a key part of Roy Hodgson’s plans with the England national side, with the European Championship next summer a potentially key tournament for both country and the player himself.

The Frenchman admitted that having gone to the World Cup at such a young age in 2006, Walcott could have reacted poorly to the limelight, but Wenger, as reported by the club’s official website, insisted that the 26-year-old’s maturity is a credit to his talent.

He went straight to the World Cup, without having played a Premier League game.

It could have gone both ways and the credit I have to give to him is that he dealt very well with that early fame and always kept his feet on the ground, was always very humble and receptive to advice.

He had ups and downs, because he had bad injuries. That made him much stronger mentally and today I believe that he has become much more of a team player, conscious of his contribution to the teamwork.

His basic strengths are still there. What I liked when I saw him first was his movement off the ball. [He is] one of the few strikers who has good movement off the ball.

The timing is right, the areas where he goes, the quality of his reception is very good. He has developed very well as at technical player, as a team player. Today he is a much better finisher, much better in assists than he was before and much more reliable in his teamwork.

The next four or five years will be absolutely decisive for him because that’s where you make your career, between 26 and 31, 32. That’s where a good player becomes a great player or just remains a good player.

Arsenal face Stoke City on Sunday afternoon, with Walcott likely to start on the left hand side of the front three – a new role to the England international, who has spent the majority of his career on the right or centre of an attacking trio.