William Gallas warns Walcott he must improve

Arsenal captain William Gallas has told Theo Walcott that if he wants to emulate Wayne Rooney he will have to change the way he plays. Gallas, who has come in for recent criticism himself following the childish strop he displayed against Birmingham, believes Walcott is too predictable and needs to work harder in training if he is to realise his potential.

Arsenal are currently preparing for tonight's crucial Champions League second-leg clash against AC Milan at the San Siro, but that hasn't stopped Gallas from voicing his opinion where he feels it matters.

The 30-year-old France international said: "I think Theo Walcott can be the new Wayne Rooney, but he has to change his style of play.

"He must work hard in training because everyone knows where he will run with the ball. He goes on his right foot so he must work to come on the inside on his left foot.

"He must be less predictable and more focussed. He can also take too long on the ball."

Walcott is currently behind Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicklas Bendtner and Robin van Persie in the forward-line pecking order and would be even further down the list had it not been for the season-ending injury to Eduardo.

However, the Croatian international's broken leg means Walcott must not step up and take on more responsibility as Arsenal attempt to wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester United.

United are now just one point behind Wenger's men, although Gallas believes the "arrogance" running through Sir Alex Ferguson's side will prove their undoing.

He said: "I know that it will be difficult for Manchester United to win because they have to play us and Chelsea again.

"They are a strong team, with lots of experienced players, but sometimes they think they are too good. Too arrogant. It can make you complacent."

Arsenal will be hoping Gallas' views don't come back to haunt them, but one thing is for certain and that is that Wenger clearly rates his centre-back highly and the player's representatives have already had contact with the club over a new four-year contract.

The Frenchman is set to sign a £90,000-a-week deal that will keep him at the Emirates until 2012, and a source is quoted in the Sun as saying: "A new contract for William is something that has been discussed. He'd like nothing more than to stay at Arsenal for the rest of his career."