Arsenal’s Walcott wants to repay Wenger’s faith with silverware

Theo Walcott says Arsenal’s squad must pay back Arsene Wenger’s unwavering faith in them by ending the club’s eight-year trophy drought.

The Gunners are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after a 3-1 first-leg loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16.

Should the north London side bow out of the competition on 13 March, Wenger’s side will be consigned to another trophyless season after lifting the FA Cup in 2005.

“The boss has always had so much belief in me from a young age, but we haven’t won anything for a long time now, so we want to pay him back by winning something,” Walcott told Arsenal’s Official Magazine.

“If we don’t perform he always takes it back on himself, but at times it is not fair because we are the players that go out there and do it.

“He definitely let’s us know when we are not performing, though, which is the right way to do it.”

Walcott, who has scored 11 Premier League goals this season, believes that ending the current drought would inspire confidence throughout Arsenal’s ranks and the club could go on to enjoy a silverware-laden spell.

“Once the team wins the first trophy, you will start to see us coming back to where we should be,” he added.

“When your team is playing well it makes your job easier and when you are winning games it is fantastic to be a part of it. However, it is when things aren’t going too well that you need to stand out and get your team back involved.

“We have got players in the dressing room who can create something out of nothing, and I want to be part of that backbone.

“You see it when we go a goal down, everyone thinks ‘right, we need to step up here because it is not goo enough’, but if we do that from the start we can beat absolutely anyone.

“I think we will get to a stage when we win games even when we haven’t dominated.

“We are starting to get there and as soon as we hit that target, I am sure we are going to be flying.”