by Mikel Arteta has changed the mindset of Arsenal players from ambitions of finishing in the top four to a hunger to become champions again, according to former Gunners striker Theo Walcott.
Arsenal finished two points behind Manchester City last season as Arteta’s side narrowly failed to win a first league title since 2004.
After winning their first two games of the new campaign, Arsenal were held 1-1 by Brighton – after Declan Rice was controversially sent off – before the international break, while City and Liverpool both maintained perfect starts.
Walcott joined the Gunners as a 16-year-old from Southampton in 2006 and went on to make nearly 400 appearances for Arsene Wenger’s side, which also included Arteta, who later became club captain.
Although Arsenal won the FA Cup twice during this period, league success continued to prove elusive.
Walcott – who left to join Everton in 2018 and ended his playing career with the Saints – believes the mindset across the club, under Arteta’s calm leadership, is now very much focused on getting back to the top level.
“Arsenal are now expected to win the league – but for me, when I was playing, I was expected to finish in the top four,” Walcott told the PA news agency.
“As players we were thinking, ‘Well, being in the top four is good’ – we weren’t thinking, to be honest to some extent, about winning the championship – sometimes it wasn’t really happening at that stage.
“Yes, there were elements, like when Eduardo got injured (in Birmingham in February 2008), where maybe we should have won or could have done better to win, but then we were just expecting to finish in the top four.
“There is now a feeling that Mikel has established with his whole attitude, of being constantly alert, of always being so positive.
“And that’s not just about the players, but the whole staff, the training ground and the whole environment of a common spirit and a positive vision.
“It’s hard to get everyone to go in the right direction and I think Mikel has done that, especially with the fans, he’s brought them all together and he’s managed to make them live together.”
Walcott added: “I said Arsenal would win the league – and they’re going to have to be exceptional to win the league.
“The way Manchester City started, they just ran people over and now they have the fear factor that when they go on the pitch the (opposition) players and their fans are terrified.
“I would be concerned though that as a league we don’t want it to be a one-horse race. We also have to be wary of Liverpool, of course, they’ve started exceptionally well.”
Former England striker Walcott, who retired in August 2023, has joined BBC Sport’s team of analysts for the new season and has been part of the Euro 2024 coverage.
Walcott, 35, will make his Match of the Day debut as a pundit this weekend, offering professional analysis and insight on the Premier League.
“I feel like I’ll be a different type of sports pundit,” said Walcott, who will also work on the BBC’s new MOTD Champions League programme.
“I will always like to bring a positive perspective and ideas on how I would have reacted as a player when a certain situation occurs.
“I would really look into it, whether it could be something as simple as body position or pulling on the shirt, something that could have really disrupted a certain situation.
“We all watch TV and say, ‘He should have scored that goal,’ but do we really analyse the situation? Then we try to understand why he didn’t score?
“I’ll become that kind of expert, I guess, and see if it works for me.”
