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14. Theo Walcott

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December

Theo was Arsenal’s top scorer in December, netting four times in four appearances. After finding the net against Reading, the 23-year-old ended 2012 with a hat-trick and man of the match performance against Newcastle United. “It was amazing,” team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said after the game. “You could see after his first goal, he had a spring in his step. He was sharp and he was good going forward. He’s been like that all season. He’s been brilliant for us and he’s stuck to his work really well with all the speculation going on. He’s a great professional, he’s a good mate and he’s a good lad around the dressing room. It’s hard for anyone to defend against someone with his pace. When he gets the service, he can always punish teams. In training he’s no different. He’s doing really well.”

November

Arsenal’s top scorer added another three goals to his tally during November. The England international scored at the Veltins-Arena, where he was named man of the match, and also found the net against Tottenham and Everton, where he broke the deadlock just 52 seconds in. “I think I scored 11 last season and 13 the year before,” he said. “Not just that, but my general play [is getting better] as well. The assists are coming now, which is fantastic, and I am enjoying my football.”

October

Theo enjoyed a successful October, scoring four times in total - including a hat-trick against Reading in the Capital One Cup that saw him named Man of the Match. His performance at the Madejski drew praise from Arsene Wenger, who said: “First of all he is a good finisher now - the way he scored the first goal. Secondly, I believe he knows where to be in the box on the rebounds. I like that - that’s a quality of a striker that you cannot give to anybody. You feel it or you don’t. He has the qualities to play there and he was superb.”

September

Theo was largely used as a substitute in September, coming off the bench on four occasions. He started against Coventry in the Capital One Cup and scored twice. That brace added to his goal against Southampton earlier in the month.

August

Theo played in Arsenal's first two matches of the season, starting against Sunderland on the opening day before coming off the bench in the goalless draw against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.

May

Theo returned from injury as a half-time substitute in the 3-2 win at West Brom. "It is a fantastic feeling [to finish third] - we have been hot and cold all season and it doesn't matter how you play, as long as you get the result here," said the England winger.

April

Theo's season was cut short in the goalless draw against Chelsea after the forward picked up a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old had been an ever-present up to that point and played a significant role in the 3-0 victory over Wolves, winning an early penalty before slotting home his 11th goal of the season shortly afterwards. “He has had his best season yet,” said Arsene Wenger. “He gets criticism because he raises the level of expectation so much that when he has a disappointing game or doesn’t make the difference, people straight away go at him because they expect something special."

March

Theo enjoyed one of his most productive months of the season so far. He notched goals against QPR and Aston Villa and picked up a deserved Man of the Match award in the 2-1 win over Newcastle at Emirates Stadium. Theo also celebrated his 23rd birthday. "I'm enjoying playing football at the moment, I'm still only 23 so there is still a lot to come from me I'm sure.," said the winger. "But I feel great, I've never played so much in my life on a consistent level for 90 minutes. It obviously helps when the team is winning as well, that is important. The confidence just flows through the whole team."

February

Theo played six times for the Club over the course of the month, and scored twice in the 5-2 defeat of Tottenham. "He works very hard every day, scores a lot of goals in training and just needs to get the goals in games. But we are very pleased for him," Wojciech Szczesny said about the forward after his derby brace.

January

Theo played five times in January and scored twice, against Swansea and Aston Villa. “I think he is coming back [to form] now,” Arsene Wenger. “He had a dip over Christmas. I found people were a bit harsh on him at Swansea because in the first half he looked dangerous to me. In the second half he scored the goal and having seen the game again he created some dangerous situations. The expectation level in England is very high for him because he started at the age of 16. But I still feel he has improved a lot this season.”

Wenger on Swansea

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