One player stood out in our Champions League game against FC this night, and it was Theo Walcott who shone and continued his fine form.
He was eulogise not just for his goals and contribution in attack, he was also outstanding in his defensive duties.
Walcott has scored five goals in his last seven games this term and Wenger has backed the England star to continue to shine and prove his critiques wrong.
Wenger admits Walcott has always had the qualities to succeed but he needed to change certain things.
“Why did I always stick with him? Because I think he is ambitious but he is intelligent and with intelligent people there is always a chance,” said Wenger.
“He has what the big players have. They have a fair assessment of their performances and their weaknesses.
“Because he had two shocks last year… what happened to him [in the defeat] at Manchester United and what happened at the Euros [when he missed out on the England squad].
“I think he thought about the problem, I had a chat with him at the start of the season and he was clear.
“He is a strong character and when you look at his career he has gone [up and down] more than anybody.
“At 16 he had the World Cup, since then he has not been at the World Cup.”
And Wenger believes he has seen enough of Walcott this season to show he has turned a corner.
“Big injuries, big setbacks, questions about his quality and his commitment… he has assessed it all and came to a conclusion that looked to me looked very positive, and that’s why I thought he deserves a big chance,” he added.
