Theo Walcott: Arsenal were fast out of the block - Danny Welbeck was back with a bang

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James Benge28 January 2017

Theo Walcott praised Arsenal for starting as they meant to go on in a convincing 5-0 win over Southampton to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the Gunners after 15 minutes as he flicked Lucas' cross over goalkeeper Harry Lewis and added a second soon after by slotting an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pass into the net.

Walcott soon got in on the act, netting his fifth Arsenal hat-trick either side of half-time as Arsenal cruised past a weakened Southampton side.

Recent weeks have seen Arsenal struggle to set the tone from the off but Walcott noted the ferocity with which the visitors began at St Mary’s.

“From the word go we were ready,” Walcott told BT Sport. “We've been lacking on poor starts lately but we came out of the blocks running and this man next to me (Welbeck) has obviously come back with an absolute bang.

“It's great to see him back on the pitch but then again it's a clean sheet which we aim for in any game.

“It's nice that we created a lot of chances and took them away today.”

Former Southampton striker Walcott added: “It's not payback at all. It's been so long (since I left the club), I've had some great memories here and Southampton will always be in my heart without a doubt.

“I enjoyed playing football here at the time and obviously, I've enjoyed tonight - the guys did fantastic.

“We wanted to get the win today and we did that.”

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