Walcott brushes off criticism
Arsenal and England winger Theo Walcott says criticism is something he no longer worries about.
Walcott remains one of the most exciting young players in England and his good start to the season has gone a long way to silencing his critics. However, there are still some people that question his ability to play at the highest level.
Walcott has never really managed to make the transition from playing well in the Arsenal team to playing well in the England team. He now has a great chance to do so as England prepares to start their European 2012 qualification campaign.
There are many areas of Walcott's game that seem to have improved over the course of the summer. However, he will always have his doubters that say he is physically too weak to be brilliant for England.
Improved game
Walcott has improved the timing of his runs forward and this has been clear in his early season performances at Arsenal. He has always had pace to burn and this is evident in any game he plays. He's only just started to time his runs perfectly where as before he would often make a run either too early or too late.
Walcott's crossing has come a long way and this is something he has been heavily criticised for over the last 12 months. He frequently gets beyond the last defender in a team and has only just started to pick out precise and accurate passes whereas before he may have wasted a chance.
His mentality seems to be much better. He has taken too many negative comments personally over the last two years. When he hasn't been in form it has been obvious that he may be thinking of these comments too much and not focusing on the ball at his feet.
Walcott said: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The people I listen to are the boss (Wenger), Mr Capello, the players and my family. They are the most important people in my career. As long as I can continue to listen to them, hopefully it will be fine and I can do the talking on the pitch."
The doubters
Walcott will always have his doubters because there are some that don't believe he has made much progress from the first day that he joined Arsenal. A lot of this is due to his size. He is a small player and a lot of people expected him to bulk out, which he has not done.
This means it is much easier for opposition defences to brush him off of the ball and bully him out of the game. The people that criticise him for this will not be convinced until he can go into a 50/50 challenge against a big defender and come out on top.
He added: "In my career, so many people have a go at me, constructive players having a go at me, but if they do something wrong I tell them as well. It goes both ways. I have been around for a long time and this is the season to push on, prove people wrong and play every game when I can with no injuries."
Betting advice
Walcott is in the best form of his Arsenal career regardless of what his critics say. He will be playing with energy and confidence and this means he will be much more likely to score in any game. Take advantage of this because you will get good odds on Walcott now that he plays more on the wing than up front.
Arsenal remain a good bet for all competitions they are active in this season.
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