Arsene Wenger believes not signing a striker in the summer has given Theo Walcott the belief he needed to shine in a central role.
The Arsenal manager came under intense scrutiny for not adding to his attacking options at the Emirates Stadium during the transfer window – with only goalkeeper Petr Cech brought in from Chelsea.
Olivier Giroud was seen as Wenger’s main striker but he has given Walcott a run there recently and the England international has seized the opportunity with both hands – drawing fresh comparisons with former Arsenal favourite Thierry Henry.
Goals against Leicester City and Olympiakos were followed up with a stand-out performance in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Manchester United before the international break – when Walcott added to his England tally with the opener against Estonia.
Read more: Arsenal should have no trouble with Watford, right? Thomas Woods isn't so sure in his Premier League predictions
He is likely to retain his place as the focal point of Arsenal’s attack when they make the short trip to Watford on Saturday evening with Wenger backing the 26-year-old to continue to succeed.
“I believe he can be a central striker,” Wenger said.
“But at the start of the season, I faced questions from everybody: ‘why don’t you buy a central striker?’ So sometimes you have to have strong beliefs and show the players as well that you believe in them in that position.
“I always said that he will play through the middle and he got his knee injury when he played well through the middle against Tottenham. It took him a while to come back, I must say.
“But now in the last two games, the last few games, he looks always dangerous in this position. The quality of his movement is outstanding and he has found his finishing again. Now against Man United he has also found his commitment back.”
Walcott has long since drawn comparisons with Arsenal’s record goalscorer Henry, who he played with when the Frenchman returned to North London on loan in 2012, and Wenger does not feel that is necessarily a bad thing.
“You cannot stop that,” he said of people drawing similarities.
“I believe that it can be positive as well. One of the important things at a young level, when people are children, is to identify the model of the guys, give a model to compare who looks similar and to copy a little bit the guy who has similar qualities and what he does. It wasn’t negative, but Theo played longer on the flank.
“Let’s not forget how our strikers developed well here. Thierry Henry arrived here and he had not scored goals before and scored plenty here. There are very few examples of players who left us and scored more elsewhere than here. We know how to develop strikers quite well.
“Maybe he can score more goals to chances. He gets a lot of chances, but the finishing is a bit up and down. But what you want from Theo is the commitment he showed against Man United in the challenges. If he adds that to his game then he will be difficult to stop.”
Wenger once again defended his managerial style and his players from further criticism from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
The retired Man United and England full-back has labelled Wenger as arrogant for not signing a suitable replacement for Patrick Vieira and, ahead of the victory over his former club, Neville said Arsenal need to study their opposition more before fixtures – something Wenger rebuffed with a shrug.
“We just turn up on Saturday, just go out and play,” he replied bullishly when asked to reply to Neville’s latest dig.
“Honestly, I am 30 years in this job. I have a good tolerance level to sometimes listen to things that are really ridiculous. Honestly. I can do it.”
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If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
more from Janine di Giovanni
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
RESULT
Arsenal 2
Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'
Eddie Ntkeiah 51'
Portsmouth 0
Quick%20facts
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The five pillars of Islam
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 3
Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90
Manchester United 3
Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
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BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
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