Walcott comes of age

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott (L) is about to score the third goal of the match as Slavia Prague goalkeeper Martin Vaniak (C) is stranded during their Champions League match at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.Photo: AFP

Theo Walcott had been stuck in the shadows for too long but Arsene Wenger believes the teenage Arsenal striker is finally ready to take centre-stage.
Walcott was granted a rare start for Tuesday's Champions League match against Slavia Prague and responded in style, scoring twice as Wenger's side routed the Czech league leaders 7-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
While they were only Walcott's second and third goals since his 10 million pounds move from Southampton in January 2006, Wenger saw enough to be convinced the 18-year-old is ready to deliver on his undoubted promise.
After Sven Goran Eriksson took him to last year's World Cup on Wenger's recommendation, Walcott was expected to continue his meteoric rise and become an Arsenal regular.
But, perhaps not surprisingly, it has taken him a while to grow accustomed to the demands of top-level football.
He has still only started 20 league games in his career but Wenger has noticed a new maturity that bodes well for his future.
"He doesn't panic in front of goal and is a real finisher," Wenger said. "I believe he has the talent and he has improved a lot.
"He is intelligent, he has fantastic pace and his technique is improving.
"There was a touch of Thierry Henry about his second goal. It was a really clinical finish. But you need to be patient.
"When you go from a young promising player into a world of men, you discover suddenly that the world is not like everybody described it to you.
"To be a football player is not as you dream it when you are 15 because you have to cope with all types of difficulties.
"You come into a fierce competition and it takes some time to realise that. But physically he is becoming a man now."
Walcott dedicated his goals to a recently deceased relative. "My brother in law's brother passed away and that was a tribute to him," he said. "People will say that the second goal was like a Thierry Henry finish and I watched him in training all the time.
"I have been working hard in training, I had a chance and I took it."
Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring with a curling effort, and then Aleksandr Hleb's shot deflected in off David Hubacek.
Walcott punished a sloppy back pass just before half-time and Hleb slotted home after half-time. Walcott scored again with a fine finish before Fabregas easily beat Martin Vaniak to cap the move of the match.
There was still time for Nicklas Bendtner to come off the bench and score in the last minute.
After a victory that equalled their biggest European win, Arsenal suddenly have an air of invincibility about them.
This was their 12th consecutive win and they are closing in on a club record of 14 in a row set 20 years ago.
If Wenger's side can extend that run to 13 they will have every right to regard themselves as genuine contenders for the Premier League.
There is no doubting the quality of Arsenal's football so far, but some of their opponents have crumbled too easily.
Wenger knows Sunday's trip to Liverpool and the following weekend's home clash with Manchester United will be a different matter and should show for certain whether Arsenal are made of the right stuff.
"We just have to remind everybody that two months ago I was crazy not to buy players and we were not even rated to be in the top seven," Wenger said.
"I know how football is. We have no reason to be carried because exactly the same people will say now we will win the European Cup.
"They said we would finish 15th two months ago. We have to be realistic and prepare for the next game.
"It is not easy to put two good performances together. You see the big teams, when they win five or six nil; they get ready for the next one.
"The signs are encouraging but we have a very big game on Sunday."