Per Mertesacker sends warning to Premier League defenders about Walcott's threat upfront

Theo Walcott (L) and Per Mertesacker (R) celebrate after their win against Manchester United.

Arsenal vice-captain Per Mertesacker has warned Premier League defenders that teammate Theo Walcott will only keep getting better in his newly-acquired striking role, as per the reports on Mirror. Walcott has spent the vast majority of his Gunners career playing as a winger since signing from Southampton as a youngster, but recently he has been deployed in the middle, a role which he has been longing to play for years.

The North London club has had mixed results right from the start of this campaign, but they reinstated their title challenge by hammering Manchester United at Emirates Stadium before the international break.

The England international was instrumental in the Gunners’ victory over the Red Devils as he added two assists to his name during the game. Walcott has been in sublime form recently and he has been picked over Olivier Giroud for his side’s striking role.

The 26-year-old has struck four times in six starts in all competitions, and his teammate Mertesacker believes that if he plays in that position, opponents will be wary of the considerable threat he poses.

"It is a different position that what he played before on the wing," Merstesacker said in an interview

"In the centre he is always one against two, so he needs to find his way and his spaces and the pockets where he can be dangerous. That will always be more in behind [the defence], forcing [the opposition] to go back because they will always be scared, if Theo plays up front, of the space in behind."

Arsene Wenger need not worry about Sanchez’s groin injury

Sanchez has been coming into some form after a slow start to the season

Ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Watford this saturday, manager Arsene Wenger will be relieved to know that his Chilean star Alexis Sanchez is back fit from international duty.

Sanchez netted six times in three matches for his side before leaving for Colombia and scored in his country’s 2-0 victory over Brazil. It was then followed up with his stellar performance against Peru when he found the back of the net twice.

The former Barcelona forward is fired up for the upcoming match against Watford and he will be looking forward to the clash against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

"From the internationals we only have positive news," said Wenger.

"We are still waiting for (Joel) Campbell, Alexis and (David) Ospina to return, but they all texted back to say they are okay, so we just have to see if they were objective in their assessment."