The England international continued his superb form by scoring a brace to help Arsenal beat FC Basel 2-0 in their Champions League group stage encounter on Wednesday.
Following the game, Manchester United legend Roy Keane urged Theo Walcott not to get ahead of himself. The Irishman warned the supporters and the 27-year-old winger not to get too carried away, with many of the toughest games of the season yet to come for the Gunners.
“It’s took him a while to get settled,” said Keane, according to the Daily Mirror. “Listen he’s had a good week. The guy needs to relax. Try to play well for the next seven or eight months.
“Tonight was a lovely game for Arsenal. When they’re in that form and have that amount of possession, they’re great to watch – they could’ve seven, eight, nine goals easily.
“But the crunch games are still to come for them, when the cold nights come in, with half the Arsenal players with their gloves on, so I wouldn’t be getting carried away with Walcott.”
The brace against Basel was the latest eye-catching performance by Theo Walcott, who appears to have resurrected himself this season. Walcott has now scored five goals and registered one assist in seven games in all competitions for the Gunners.
It was not that long ago that Walcott’s future with Arsenal was cast in doubt after yet another poor season. He scored just five goals and made two assists in 28 Premier League appearances for the Gunners last season, and even manager Arsene Wenger seemed unconvinced about his future at the club.
A number of clubs were linked with Walcott over the summer, especially around the time that Arsenal were in pursuit of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy. However, Wenger decided to persist with the player he brought to the club nine years ago, while promising Costa Rican winger Joel Campbell was sent out on loan instead.
Though the decision was initially met with anger from the fans, Wenger’s choice has been vindicated thus far this campaign. It remains to be seen if Walcott is able to keep up this form for the rest of the campaign, but the Englishman could prove to be a key player for Arsenal in the weeks to come.
