Just Arsenal News

The Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has returned to training with the first team, but Arsene Wenger has issued a warning that he will not be risking the young England star until he is certain he is 100% fit and back to his best. So there is little chance that he will be playing against Chelsea tomorrow.

Walcott has only made one start for Arsenal this season, against Birmingham, and was immediately back on the treatment table after a heavy tackle from Liam Ridgewell, and Wenger is adamant that he doesn’t want the same thing to happen again.

He said: “Every time I have rushed [Walcott] back he has been injured again. This time I have decided to take the time to get him completely 100 per cent.

“He can play central, I’m very conscious of that because of the quality of his runs and the timing of his runs. I believe he has all the assets to be a fantastic central player. What he needs to work on to play in this kind of position is with his back to goal. At the moment his strengths are central to the counter-attacking role, rather than the distribution role. That’s what he has to add to his game.”

With Bendtner and Van Persie out injured, it is likely that Eduardo will be starting on his own up front against Chelsea, with Arshavin and Nasri close behind in support.