Cole wary of great expectations for Walcott
Joe Cole has warned England and Arsenal fans not to burden TheoWalcott with unrealistic expectations after impressive performances forclub and country recently.
The teenager gave a glimpse of his prodigious talent with a hat-trick againstCroatia to help England maintain their 100% record in their World Cup qualifyingcampaign.
Arsenalmanager Arsene Wenger was expected to rest Walcott for their PremierLeague fixture with Blackburn at the weekend, and he started with theyoungster who went on to play a influential role in the 4-0 win atEwood Park.
And Chelsea midfielder Cole, who was hailed as a world-class talent during hisearly years, is wary of expecting too much from Walcott so early in his career.
"We have to remember that he's still only 19 and there shouldn't be too muchpressure on him. He'll be a big player for England, but it can't just be on oneplayer's shoulders,'' Cole said.
"In (Arsene) Wenger and (Fabio) Capello, he's working with two of the mostexperienced and respected managers in the world, who'll both help mature him asa player.
"Though, to be fair, scoring three goals against Croatia in the Maksimirstadium - probably the hardest stadium in Europe to go to - shows he's prettyfearless already.
"He's got great touch and fantastic ball control, which are obviously two ofthe essential skills needed on a football pitch, so he's definitely got theability
"What's so special about Theo is that by getting down the wing and picking outplayers, he's got the potential to set up as many goals as he'll score. Arsenalplay great passing football, so he's learning his trade at a great place.
"He showed composure in front of goal against Croatia, like I said, you don'trealise just how hard a stadium Maksimir is to play in, so he really did need acool head on his shoulders.''
Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton as a 16-year-old in a deal which willeventually be worth up to £12million to the south coast club.
And Cole also admitted it was Walcott's pace which made him such an asset forArsenal as well as a difficult proposition for defenders.
"We've all seen for a while how fast he is, and it's not just his short burstsof pace - he can do it for the whole length of the pitch,'' Cole said in anexclusive interview with Nuts magazine.
"Pace is something that strikes fear into any player, even the top ones atinternational level.
"It's difficult to defend against and the defender will always be scared ofmaking a foul because you can't get near him. Once he gets into the box, he's adefender's nightmare.
"We also saw against Croatia how good his shooting is. None of his three goalswere easy but he took them so well that he made them look easy.
"He's only 19 and those three goals will have given him bags of confidence, sohe'll be even more likely to take shots in the future.
"If he gets a run in the Arsenal side, I can see him scoring quite a few goalsthis season - his shooting accuracy is among the best I've ever seen.'' |
發表於 2008-9-17 11:48 PM
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