‘That’s how Mikel operates’… Theo Walcott absolutely blown away after watching Arsenal training at London Colney

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Theo Walcott has admitted being left absolutely blown away by the winning mentality after watching Arsenal training.

Arsenal had a disappointing night on Wednesday, losing 1-0 away at Porto.

The Gunners had their chances to secure a win in Portugal but also dodged an almost-certain goal from Galeno in the first half.

It was that man Galeno who struck the killer blow though, curling home a stunning strike in the final seconds of injury time.

Arsenal will still be confident of getting the job done back in North London but this defeat was a real disappointment.

Theo Walcott hails Arsenal training

Mikel Arteta will surely feel that he can secure a victory in the second leg and you can be sure that training sessions will have real intensity ahead of that game.

Arsenal have been a winning machine of late and losing an important Champions League game will just make Arteta’s players even more determined to win.

Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott has now offered his verdict on Arteta’s training sessions having been down to London Colney to watch the action.

Walcott told BBC Radio Five Live that the expectation around Arsenal now is that they should win every game – and some of that pressure comes from inside the club.

Walcott noted that he has watched training and saw a squad of players where simply nobody wants to lose even in training.

The former Gunners attacker noted that every Arsenal player wants to perform at the highest level – and that’s down to Arteta’s influence.

“They’re expected to win every game they go into now,” said Walcott. “I’ve seen them up close when they’re training and no-one wants to lose, and that’s a training game, it’s a training drill and everyone wants to do it at the highest level and that’s how Mikel operates, he operates at the highest level,” he added.

That mentality is why Wednesday’s shock defeat will hurt Arteta so much; he prepares the Arsenal players to go into battle and, more often than not, come out on top.

There will be major frustration inside the Arsenal camp after that defeat and you can be sure that those players will now ramp up the intensity in training as a result.