Keane mocks Walcott and ‘glove-wearing’ Arsenal stars

Matt Stead

Roy Keane has put a dampener on recent optimism regarding Arsenal and, in particular, Theo Walcott.

Walcott scored twice as Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 victory over Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It continues the Englishman’s excellent start to the season, where he has established himself as a regular first teamer.

Walcott has scored five goals and assisted one in seven games in all competitions, but former Manchester United midfielder Keane is not too impressed.

“It’s took him a while to get settled,” the Republic of Ireland assistant manager told ITV Sport. “Listen he’s had a good week. The guy needs to relax. Try to play well for the next seven or eight months.

“Tonight was a lovely game for Arsenal. When they’re in that form and have that amount of possession, they’re great to watch – they could’ve seven, eight, nine goals easily.

“But the crunch games are still to come for them, when the cold nights come in, with half the Arsenal players with their gloves on, so I wouldn’t be getting carried away with Walcott.

“He scored some lovely goals tonight, with the simplicity of his movement, it was outstanding, but he’s got to do it over the course the next year or two.”