The Arsenal and England international star Theo Walcott will be hoping that his latest game on the comeback trail after a year off with injury problems has some similarities with the last time the Gunners went to the Etihad stadium to face Man City.
Walcott was fantastic in that game, scoring twice and causing City all sorts of problems, but the result was not so good as Arsenal suffered a 6-3 defeat which began our terrible run of away defeats against our big Premier League rivals.
Walcott, however, reckons that the Gunners are now in a much better position to end that run, as he feels that we have sorted out the problems in every area of the team, including a better fighting spirit and attitude, which the speedy forward feels was highlighted by the way Arsenal came from behind and nearly won in our home clash with the EPL champions earlier this season.
Theo also told Arsenal Player that our defence is now much more solid, as seen by us keeping clean sheets in the last two games after getting Laurent Koscielny back from injury. Walcott clearly feels that the injury problems have played a huge part in our struggles but he is just one of a few key players like Ozil and Ramsey that are now back for Arsenal and that is why he is so confident about tomorrow’s game and the rest of the season before us.
The England striker said, “Defensively from the front to the back we were very solid [against Stoke]. While at times Stoke passed the ball very well, they didn’t really threaten the goal, so if we do that against Man City there’s no reason why we can’t get a result. It is going to come down to our defensive display – everyone needs to work for each other.
“We were 1-0 down [against Man City in September] and the fightback [showed our character]. In the past, the game might have gone from our grasp, so we know we can mix it with the best.
“We are definitely one of the best teams in the Premier League. With the squad we have and when everyone is fit and consistent, I don’t think many teams can cope with the pace we have and the new signings of Alexis and getting people like Mesut back as well.
“It is only looking bright going into where it matters, at the end of the season. Everyone needs to be 100 per cent focused on Sunday and we should not have a problem.”
Do you agree with Theo or do you think there us more pain in store for Arsenal at Man City?