Theo Walcott Comments on Arsenal Confidence After UCL Win vs. Ludogorets

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has hailed the effort of the team following Wednesday's 6-0 rout of Ludogorets Razgrad in the UEFA Champions League.

Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fired the Gunners into a three-goal lead on the night before Mesut Ozil scored a second-half hat-trick to add gloss to the scoreline. The victory pushed Arsenal to seven wins in succession in all competitions, and Walcott is delighted to see so many contributors to their positive form.

"Everyone was focused [and] ruthless, and it's a great result going into the weekend," the England international said, per the official Arsenal website. "The whole team is firing on confidence at this moment in time."

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The Gunners certainly have a swagger about them. Following a testing start to the Premier League season, manager Arsene Wenger has found a brilliant balance in his XI, and some of the performances during the seven-game winning streak have been splendid.

Alexis Sanchez has led the line superbly, acclimatising well to a new role at the point of the attack. His scurrying movement and industry have offered a different dimension to the Gunners’ play in the final third and made room for Arsenal’s creative stars, such as Ozil, to flourish.

Football journalist Andy Brassell has been impressed by the way Wenger’s men have taken teams apart:

Walcott’s own rejuvenation has been so important to this positive run, too. On the right flank, he’s been a major threat so far this term, linking up brilliantly with Ozil and Sanchez, as well as providing vital penetration in the final third of the field.

After some disappointing displays last term, the 27-year-old deserves credit for the way he’s bounced back, and he scored a thunderous long-range strike against the Bulgarian champions on Wednesday. But when asked about his goals, Walcott again praised the collective.

"Obviously the goals are fantastic, but we always say we want to keep a clean sheet as a team," he said. "That’s always our first goal, and we managed to do that. We know how well we are going forward, how good we are, and it's just sorting ourselves at the back, and we've managed to do that this season especially."

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Walcott’s form is well worthy of individual focus, though. Per Squawka Football, he’s been finding the back of the net with regularity of late:

The willingness on the winger’s part to praise the entire team is understandable, as there’s a balance about the Arsenal XI this term that’s not been seen for many years.

Wenger looks to have made some savvy signings. At the back, Shkodran Mustafi has flourished in partnership with Laurent Koscielny, while midfielder Granit Xhaka has already established himself as a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium. Lucas Perez hasn’t shown his best yet, although there were glimpses of his talent in a late cameo against Ludogorets.

Almost as crucial is that the Arsenal boss has drawn more from the attacking stars who have long been at the club. Sanchez is thriving, Ozil is in the best goalscoring form of his Arsenal career and Walcott is a man on fire in 2016-17.

Some bigger challenges await against sterner opposition, but the Gunners finally look ready to once again challenge for major honours.