He’s on fire! Arsenal’s Theo Walcott heaps praise on Olivier Giroud

Theo Walcott has heaped praise on his Arsenal striker partner Olivier Giroud after the Frenchman continued his goal-scoring run against Liverpool on Wednesday.

The former Montpellier striker scored his fifth goal in three appearances in the second half, helping the Gunners salvage a 2-2 draw after the Reds had stormed into a commanding two-goal lead.

“It was a fantastic touch for [my goal] and his goal was what he is known for,” Walcott told Arsenal’s website. “He has been on fire in recent weeks and he is great to play with.

“His touch [for the equaliser] was fantastic and allowed me to hit it first time – I think I caught the keeper by surprise. It was a great moment but it’s just a shame we didn’t get the win.

“Before the game I felt it was going to be very open. Liverpool played well in patches but in the second half we were absolutely fantastic.

“It took us a while to get going and I felt their goal was against the run of play, but it was a great game for the neutral. It feels like a loss [in the dressing room] but if we look at the whole game it is probably a fair result.”

Walcott is confident Arsenal can beat Stoke City at The Emirates on Saturday if the Gunners replicate their second-half performance against Liverpool.

“We’re at home, we’re very strong and we need to pick up three points rather than a point,” he added. “If we show the performance from the second half [against Liverpool] then I am sure we will beat them.”