"There were signs of that last year" – Theo Walcott claims Arsenal can win Champions League if they fix 2 things

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has offered his take on how his former club can win the UEFA Champions League trophy in the ongoing season.

The Gunners have emerged as one of Europe's best sides over the last couple of campaigns. They went toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the league in the last two seasons, but failed to lift the title once.

Mikel Arteta's outfit are currently second behind Liverpool in the Premier League table with 47 points from 23 games. They finished third in the Champions League table with 19 points from eight matches.

During a recent interaction on BBC, Walcott asserted that the Emirates Stadium side need to improve two things if they are to win the Champions League. He said (h/t TBR):

"There are areas that Arsenal need to improve on if they want to win the Champions League. They need to improve their winning mentality, there were signs of that last year. I feel if they're going to progress, I want to see players expressing themselves, playing with enjoyment and freedom."

Stating that the Gunners need a new number nine, Walcott concluded:

"They're also lacking that star striker. Kai Havertz gets the best out of everyone on the team, but if they want to win the Champions League, they need to get those numbers a lot higher. If they can improve those two areas, Arsenal aren't far away from winning the Champions League."

With a few days left in the winter transfer window, Arsenal are reportedly expected to lodge a second bid for Ollie Watkins. They recently had a reported £60 million bid to rope in the Aston Villa striker rejected.

Arsenal earmark Serie A star as winter target

According to AFTV, Arsenal have identified Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui as a transfer target in the winter window. Should they fail to sign Ollie Watkins, they could table an offer to rope in the Italy international.

Retegui, 25, has emerged as a crucial starter for Atalanta since arriving from Genoa in a deal worth up to around £23 million last summer. The right-footed attacker has found the back of the opposition net 19 times and laid out four assists in 30 overall club appearances this term.

In comparison, Kai Havertz has scored 14 goals in 32 matches across all competitions for the Gunners in the ongoing 2024-25 season. The German has also registered four assists in 2596 minutes this term.