• Premier League

Walcott: Arsenal will be flying

Theo Walcott is warning Arsenal's Premier League rivals they will need to be quick to catch Arsene Wenger's team.

The forward is nearing a return to fitness after his cruciate ligament knee injury and claims the club could have the fastest strikeforce in the league after the signings of Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez.

"I hope we'll have the fastest forward line in the Premier League," Walcott said. "It's exciting times.

Theo Walcott says Danny Welbeck will add pace to Arsenal's attack © Getty Images

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"What we can do is build on from the FA Cup and attract these great players to the club. It will hopefully put Arsenal where we should be - winning trophies.

"These players are very, very fast. They will fit the bill perfectly. Alexis has settled in very quickly, Danny is a good guy, I have worked with him with England. Danny is a hard worker. He always puts his heart on the line.

"At times, I thought he needed to be a bit more selfish so I was very happy on Monday night [when he scored twice in England's 2-0 win against Switzerland]. It's the one thing he has changed and he will get more goals now - unless he sees me in a good position, of course.

"I don't know what the boss has got planned but hopefully it will push us on and increase the level of competition.

"It's a massive buzz around the club - when you see the amount of money that has been spent. It has been well documented over the years that we haven't spent as much but Arsenal are doing it the right way and spending it wisely."

Walcott, who scored six goals in 18 Arsenal appearances last season, has been out since January but has almost recovered from the surgery his injury required and claims he will return "stronger and quicker" in the next few weeks.

"I hope to be quicker, definitely," he said. "I've been working very hard. You've got to look at these injuries as a bit of a blessing at times. I've never had the opportunity to work on the strength in my legs and with that I think hopefully I should be quicker and stronger. So that's what I'm looking forward to.

"I'm all about positive thinking. When you think about injuries, you don't want to be all negative about it. If you're negative or down in the dumps, then it'd take longer.

"I knew how long the rehab would be, it was always going to be around nine months. But I approached it that I had to enjoy it. It's given me the opportunity to work on my legs and build up the muscle strength. If anything, I hope to come back stronger and quicker."

"There were rumours of me coming back for the Spurs game [on September 27], which is definitely not going to happen, but I'll definitely be there for the one in February.

"We're not setting specific comeback matches, but I'm just pleased it's hopefully now only a matter of weeks before I'll be back playing.

"There may be one or two under-21s matches I'll be involved in first. I'm just looking forward to getting out there and playing again."

Theo Walcott was injured against Tottenham in an FA Cup match © Getty Images

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