The England international says Petr Cech, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky led an "important" conversation without manager Arsene Wenger's knowledge
Theo Walcott has revealed Arsenal’s players held a meeting ahead of Tuesday's FA Cup victory over Hull City aimed at improving their results after a disappointing spell.
The Gunners recently slipped to defeats against Barcelona, Manchester United and Swansea and drew 2-2 with Tottenham at White Hart Lane as their chances of winning the Premier League title and progressing in the Champions League took a significant blow.
Walcott says the meeting was held without Arsene Wenger’s knowledge and was led by experienced players Petr Cech, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky as an attempt to get the club's season back on track.
“We are not going to lie - we know as a unit it has been tough and we all had a good chat amongst us behind closed doors, without even any of coaches or the manager knowing about anything,” he told reporters.
“I think it is important that as a team [to know] we have got it in us. We just have to produce it more often.
“You had a sense of the Tottenham game especially, when you go down to ten men in a big game like that, the belief and the character was there.
“The never-give-up spirit was there as well. In the derby matches, they could be the matches that turn your season and we may have turned the corner maybe.
“We have quite a lot of experienced players in the dressing room. It came from Cech, Mikel, Per and Tomas. We have four good old heads there.
“I’d like to keep what was said among ourselves but it was very important. We have had a reaction from it anyway.”
Arsenal eased to a comfortable 4-0 victory at the KC Stadium with Walcott scoring twice and he feels the meeting has had the required impact
“The manager probably knows about it anyway - he’s got ears everywhere at the club!” he added.
“The manager respects the players’ privacy and what’s happening personally amongst us all. It was a meeting to express how everyone was feeling basically and it worked.
“As you get closer and closer, there is a sense of belief that we can do it and create history which would be a great achievement for everyone. But we all know what we want this year and we would swap it in a heartbeat without a doubt.
“The competition has been pretty good for us. People say we have had some kind draws but you can see in the cup competitions that anyone can beat anyone.
“We have been conceding too many goals cheaply as a unit. We haven’t been scoring enough. This was a big confidence boost for everyone.
“We want to stay in this competition because it is massive for us. We want to make those history books and try and push on to Wembley and do it on the third occasion but we have got a big test against Watford first.”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
