Theo Walcott has compared new Arsenal teammate Alexandre Lacazette’s scoring style to England international Jermain Defoe.
The former Lyon striker became Arsenal’s record signing when completing a £52m deal this week and, having scored 28 goals in 30 Ligue 1 matches last season, Arsenal fans will be hoping that the French international can provide the goals to fire them back into the top four.
Lacazette’s arrival at The Emirates could harm Walcott’s quest for regular starts, but the 28-year old is excited from what he has seen the new arrival do.
“The French league is very physical league but he looks like he’s in good nick,” he told the club site.
“He reminds me a bit of Jermain Defoe in that he sees the target, shoots and scores.
“That’s what I’ve seen of him in little clips, so hopefully he can bring those attributes to the team. There’s loads of competition for places which is healthy as always, but we’re looking strong.”
Walcott also spoke about the struggles that he faces as a player who relies mainly on his speed to breach opposition defences.
“Pace in the Premier League is the most important thing for me,” he added. “It’s hard because a lot of teams drop back, sit back against us and it’s tight because there’s not a lot of space in behind.
“You have to find different ways of breaking them down but that’s why you’ve got all these clever players like Mesut to get through them differently.
“Pace is always a threat. When you’re counter-attacking, it wins all the time. As long as we’ve got pace in this team, we’re going to be OK.”
