Theo Walcott says he’s aiming to find the net 25 times next season as he looks to lead the Gunners to silverware

The England international scored 21 goals last term despite a lengthy goal drought in the aftermath of protracted contract negotiations but now feels well placed to improve on that total despite the prospect of new additions to the attack.

Speaking to Arsenal.com from Vietnam the 24-year-old spoke confidently about his aims for the forthcoming season:

“I got 21 goals last season and I want to try and push on from there. I want to try and get to 25. That’s my benchmark but I believe in myself and that’s the main thing.

“Time will tell if players come in or not but we just work with the squad we’ve got at the moment. Come the start of the season, there could be changes. We know it’s a very long campaign but we’re all very excited about our prospects.”

Having experienced the upheaval of big name player departures in summers gone by, Walcott also underlined his belief that the managerial changes at rival clubs could play into the hands of an Arsenal squad benefiting from the stability brought by Arsene Wenger.

“The teams that finished above us have changed their managers,” continued the frontman. “We’ve still got ours.

“It’s always going to be tough. Every game in the Premier League is very tough and very interesting. It always comes down to the last few games. So we need to believe in ourselves.

“The way we ended the season last year, 11 games undefeated – we need to do it from the start, which I believe we can. The manager shows so much belief in us in every single game so we need to step up and I think we’ve got a very good chance of challenging this season.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Theo reacts if an out-and-out striker is signed. He’s made no secret of his desire to play in a central role even though most of his goals and best performances have come with him playing off the right.

He did well last season in testing circumstances and while we here at Arseblog News are arguably harsher on him than anyone else in the squad, it’s mostly because we’re driven to distraction by how frustrating he can be. One week he’s amazing, the next anonymous. If he sorts that out he won’t just be a 25 goal a season man, he could get 30 and maybe even more…