Gilberto urges Walcott to wait

Gunners midfielder predicts big things for his young team-mate

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 20th April 2008

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Gilberto: Cautious

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Arsenal veteran Gilberto believes that Theo Walcott must bide his time if he is to reach the top.

The youngster produced another positive performance in the Gunners 2-0 win over Reading on Saturday and has made the most of his opportunities of late.

Brazilian midfielder Gilberto knows how important it is to nurture promising talent in the right manner, and feels that Walcott will benefit from his gradual progression into the first-team fold.

Pressure

"Apart from being a great player, Theo is a very nice guy - but I think people need to give him time," he said.

"I read some things and people try to put pressure on him and between him and the manager, but if they let him do his job freely then he can be one of the best players in England.

"Sometimes people forget that he is very young. Theo needs to progress in the way he plays."

Gilberto declared: "Theo will do it, but if I was him then I would be very calm because he's playing for a big club, he's doing very well, he's got plenty of time to learn things and improve himself.

Ability

"The pace he has got and his ability he's got for such a young guy, it's amazing - but he must concentrate on his job, do it without any pressure because I know he wants to play games.

"He has got time on his side to develop a bit more.

"Theo has got the talent and the more he works, as I've seen him work on the training ground, the better he will become.

"He will be prepared and more ready to take his chance when he is in the starting XI."

Focused

Gilberto is hoping that he will be around to see Walcott's development, as with just a year left to run on his current contract at the Emirates he admits that his future remains unclear.

"I will sit down with the boss at the end of the season," he confirmed.

"But for the next few weeks, I will keep focused on doing my job, trying to help the team as much as I can whether it is on the pitch, or in training working with the players.

"We always speak very nicely, Arsene (Wenger) is open and we will talk.

Frustrating

"I don't know whether you can get assurances, but I want to talk about my prospects and whether I have a chance to play, if the manager thinks I can be a good player for the team or not."

Gilberto added: "To be honest, I really want to stay and I've always expressed that.

"Of course I'm upset that I've not played much this season because last year I played the whole season and this year has been really frustrating.

"But you need to be professional, respect the manager's point of view and help the other players as much and to the maximum that I possibly can."