Theo Walcott claims Arsenal have pulled together to form a tighter team since the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.
Winger feels Arsenal are more together since duo left in summer
Theo Walcott claims Arsenal have pulled together to form a tighter team since the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in the summer.
The Gunners struggled initially this season after star midfielder Fabregas left for Barcelona and Nasri joined Manchester City, but have been in impressive form since October.
Walcott says the departures prompted Arsenal, currently fifth in the Premier League, to adopt a new style.
The 22-year-old told
Arsenal Player: "I'm not saying that Cesc and Samir were individual players, they were great team players, but when you lose two top players everyone needs to come together.
"The manager has brought in some good additions and we are a bit more of a team, we work harder when we haven't got the ball.
"We have a lot more clean sheets as well, and having [Thomas] Vermaelen back is very important as he is a massive player for us."
Next step
The winger admits Arsenal need not to rely as heavily on Robin van Persie for firepower, with the talismanic captain having scored 17 of their 36 league goals so far this season.
He added: "The next thing the whole team needs to share the goals more.
"Samir and Cesc used to get quite a lot of them and Robin van Persie has been getting most of them so that's our next step."
