Arsenal are more of a team without Fàbregas and Nasri, says Walcott

Theo Walcott believes the departures of Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri have helped Arsenal become “more of a team”.

The two midfielders sealed their exits from the Emirates late in the summer transfer window following months of speculation over their futures as Fàbregas returned to Barcelona and Nasri joined Manchester City.

“I’m not saying that Cesc and Samir were individual players, they were great team players, but when you lose two top players everyone needs to come together,” Walcott told Arsenal Player.

“The manager has brought in some good additions and we are a bit more of a team, we work harder when we haven’t got the ball.

“We have a lot more clean sheets as well, and having [Thomas] Vermaelen back is very important as he is a massive player for us.

“The next thing the whole team needs to share the goals more. Samir and Cesc used to get quite a lot of them and Robin van Persie has been getting most of them so that’s our next step.”

Walcott, 22, also admits that he knows he must begin find the net more regularly as Arsène Wenger’s men bid to end their six-year trophy drought this season.

“I need to get in among the goals a bit more maybe – I only have four,” he continued. “But I’m happy if the team’s winning and I’m getting assists for the main man up front. I’m doing my job and you have to be effective going forward. That’s what I’ve been doing so far.

“It’s been a long time since we won something and for me personally, I want to win even more now as well.

“Fingers crossed we can all stay fit, which is quite important. In seasons before we’ve had a lot of injuries that have stuttered us slightly and that doesn’t help the team. But it’s a squad thing, and the important thing is that we keep a lot of players fit.”