Arsenal star needed ‘kick up the backside’ and will be fearing for his place, says Theo Walcott | Football

Theo Walcott says Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard needed a ‘kick up the backside’ and will be concerned for his place following Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick heroics against Tottenham.

Odegaard has been out of motion since October with a knee injury and was forced to sit down out the Gunners’ memorable 4-1 victory over their bitter rivals on Sunday.

Eze continued his run within the team rather than his skipper and Arsenal’s £67.5m signing took his opportunity with each hands, scoring either side of half-time to present Mikel Arteta’s men a 3-0 lead following Leandro Trossard’s opener on the Emirates.

Richarlison gave Spurs a glimmer of hope with an audacious 35-yard lob over David Raya, nevertheless it was snuffed out within the 76th minute as Eze fired cooly beyond Guglielmo Vicario to revive the hosts’ three-goal cushion.

Eze’s stunning hat-trick – which helped Arsenal tighten their grip on top spot – was the primary scored in a north London derby because the Premier League’s inception. Alan Sunderland was the last player to attain the feat way back in 1978.

The moment of history was especially sweet for Arsenal supporters given Eze opted to show down a move to Tottenham with a purpose to join Arteta’s side in the summertime transfer window.

‘I really like him. He’s had patches of brilliance and also you thought, “Ah, I would like slightly bit more, you’re playing barely with the handbrake on”, perhaps,’ ex-Arsenal forward Walcott said while reflecting on Eze’s performance on The Overlap US.

‘But what was very nice to see is when you may have a bench celebrating that much as well.

‘They’re all on the identical page, they’re, nonetheless, deep down, Martin Odegaard will likely be pondering: “Oh, this is hard!”‘

Though Odegaard could also be fearing for his spot within the side, Walcott is confident Eze’s rise to prominence will ultimately push the Norwegian to greater heights as a player.

‘Sometimes you turn into a greater player once you’re injured sometimes, once you’re losing games,’ he added.

‘But at this moment in time, he’s becoming a worse player. And you’ll be able to’t forget how good Odegaard is, and that’s the mad truth, but we’ll see a side of Odegaard we’ve not seen.

‘I feel he’s needed this kick up the backside, I’ll be brutally honest.

‘It should be good for him since it’s happened to Trossard and swiftly Trossard is someone different now so I feel it’ll do him good.

‘Everyone seems to be getting pushed immediately at Arsenal now and we’re in an excellent place, a greater place, an incredible place.’

Walcott looks back on his experiences within the north London derby with great fondness and can endlessly be remembered by fans of each teams for his cheeky 2-0 gesture from a stretcher during Arsenal’s FA Cup win in 2014.

‘It was at all times the fixture that I just loved playing,’ the previous England international recalled.

‘Even away, knowing the abuse I’d get but additionally knowing the abuse I could give back with my footballing ability. It type of worked each ways.

‘There was my famous 2-0 thing that individuals love from my time. But I actually take a look at it very in another way, I actually scored a variety of goals against Tottenham, I enjoyed some moments and a few good performances.

‘Nevertheless, for a fan, that memory was me just having a little bit of banter on the stretcher after I did my ACL which I wasn’t aware of on the time.

‘That’s a memory for them and a memory that can continue to exist. My knee didn’t feel great!’

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