We blew them away, says Walcott

Theo Walcott confirmed his status among England's brightest attacking talents with an inspirational display in Arsenal FC's 3-0 defeat of Villarreal CF last night and reflected that his long injury absence earlier this season may have helped mature him as a player.

Early goal
Walcott had already menaced the Villarreal defence several times with his pace and touch when he deftly chipped Arsenal into a tenth-minute lead on their way to clinching a 4-1 aggregate success and a UEFA Champions League semi-final against Manchester United FC. And the winger, who only turned 20 on 16 March – a week after returning from four months out with a shoulder dislocated on England duty – underlined that his early goal was the key on what initially appeared a tense night.

'Blew them away'
"I think if you are not nervous, you are not right," Walcott said. "The first goal helped calm everybody down and from then we blew them away. They didn't get many opportunities but they are a good team when they can get it down and pass the ball. We were aware of that and we played brilliantly."

New perspective
Wednesday's goal came only four days after Walcott had scored for the first time since his shoulder operation at Wigan Athletic FC, but he believes he has learned a lot about the game during his enforced absence. "You get a different perspective on watching the game when you're injured," he said. "I've been watching things [from the stands] and I can see the whole pitch, see how we play football."

Injuries
Several of Walcott's club-mates, including goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and defenders William Gallas and Johan Djourou. watched the Villarreal game from the sidelines due to injury, and the winger knows it has been a bit of a theme for Arsenal recently. "William's been brilliant for us this year, Johan got a knee problem, Almunia – we've been so unlucky with injuries this year, but the players that come in do a fantastic job as we've shown tonight," Walcott said.

Semi-final
Arsenal visit Old Trafford in the last four on Wednesday 29 April before the return six days later, and even with Saturday's FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea FC and a league encounter with Liverpool FC to follow, Walcott is already excited about the United tie. "It will be fantastic," he said. "I haven't had the opportunity to play in the semi-final of the Champions League before, so yet again it will be great experience for me. It seems like I've been around for a long time! But I'm not going to think about the game, Chelsea is the big one then Liverpool in midweek. It's a very big week for us."