Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has hailed Laurent Koscielny, after the Frenchman’s match-winning strike against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The game at the Emirates Stadium was finely poised, with the travellers offering somewhat of a tougher challenge than most would have first thought.
With the Gunners struggling for efforts at goal throughout the game, it took until the 72nd minute, when a Mesut Ozil corner took two Olivier Giroud flick-ons to land at Koscielny’s feet, who tucked the ball home on the stretch to gift Arsenal a vital three points.
The north London side’s victory extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table after Leicester City dropped points at home to Bournemouth, giving Arsenal even more chance to win their first league title in over 10 years.
Speaking on his teammate, Walcott admitted that the Frenchman ‘raised his game’ in the last 30 minutes.
He joked that he only scores against Newcastle, but he does produce massive goals at massive moments.
There was a sense that he just lifted his game in the last 30 minutes. I could tell how hard he was working and how much he wanted the team to win. The fact that he goes forward on every corner shows how much of a massive threat he is. He got the goal he deserved and then we managed to hold on with our back four, so it’s another clean sheet for Petr.
A lot of games have been like that this season. The Premier League is starting to open up a little bit and a lot of teams are ready for the battle this year. The performance wasn’t there to be honest, but the work rate is always there and when you have work rate you always get the success that you need, want and deserve.
The three points are crucial at this moment in time, especially when teams slip up as well. We’ve had a blip at times but it’s important that we get those hard-fought three points today. In previous seasons we would have lost that or drawn, so that’s a very good sign for 2016.
The title is anyone’s to be honest but there’s such a belief in this team that we can do it this year. It’s been a long time and everyone understands that, but you could just sense with that performance that we know what we need to do. It’s up for grabs but we have the strength in depth in this squad and I believe that we can push on this season and hopefully be successful.
Arsenal next face Sunderland in the third round of the FA Cup, a game where some of the side’s ‘bigger’ stars will likely be given a rest ahead of the trip to Anfield, where they take on Liverpool.
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