• Walcott says change in attitude should have hit him years ago • Arsène Wenger told forward he must defend more for the team

Theo Walcott believes his upturn in form is down to a change in attitude that should have happened “a few years ago”.

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Last season was a disappointing one for Walcott, culminating in him missing out on the England squad for the European Championship. After a summer of reflection and a conversation with Arsène Wenger he has scored three goals in six Premier League games, abandoning plans to establish himself as a centre-forward in the process.

“It’s all down to hard work,” Walcott said before Arsenal’s Champions League match at home against Basel. “Me and the manager sat down and I’ve just looked at myself. I know what I can do. I want this team to do well and you can see that in my desire and the way I’m playing. I want it more than anyone else but that’s just me and the way that I work now. It’s a shame, maybe it should have hit me a few years ago but there’s been a change in my whole attitude.”

Walcott admitted that, for now at least, he has given up on becoming a centre-forward. “I can play anywhere across the line but I wanted to go back to what I know best and the manager’s put so much faith in me by playing me on the right-hand side. I need to keep on repaying that faith.”

Wenger restated his support for the player he signed from Southampton as a 17-year-old, insisting he had never thought about selling Walcott, even during the dip in form. “Theo’s career is made of ups and downs,” the Arsenal manager said. “Why did I always stick with him? Because I think he is ambitious but he is intelligent and with intelligent people there is always a chance. He has what the big players have. They have a fair assessment of their performances and their weaknesses.

“I had a chat with him at the start of the season and he was clear. He has assessed it all and came to a conclusion that looked to me very positive and that’s why I thought he deserves a big chance.”

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Wenger confirmed part of his understanding with Walcott was that, as a winger, he would have to contribute more defensive work. “He has improved, he showed that on Saturday [against Chelsea]. He knows when you play on the flank, you have to add that job to your game, because today all the full-backs who go forward are dangerous. Despite that he wanted to compete on the flank, and as long as he produces these kind of performances, I’m OK with it.”

Asked whether Walcott would play as a centre-forward for Arsenal again, Wenger was noncommital: “One of the things in our job is that you can never say never.”

Of the match on Wednesday, Walcott said he believed Arsenal were better equipped to succeed in this year’s Champions League after drawing at Paris Saint-Germain and beating Chelsea 3-0 at home in the league. “It’s always important to start off well and we’ve managed to do that against a tough team like PSG,” he said. “We found it quite difficult but we managed to get a result and that’s the sort of team we’ve got this year. We’re very experienced, very balanced and we’ve got tremendous pace and energy going forward. In previous years we’ve found our first game at the Emirates quite tough but after the weekend’s good result we need to make sure our energy is good again.”