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Theo Walcott delighted with goal, hails Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott was delighted to mark his first Premier League start for over a year with a goal, and praised the performance of Mesut Ozil.

Walcott, 25, missed almost a year with a knee injury suffered in last season's FA Cup victory over Spurs, but finally made his first league start in 396 days in the 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa.

The England international scored the Gunners' third goal and got under 70 minutes under his belt as he builds up his fitness.

After the game, Walcott told the Daily Mirror: "In the second half, I can't think of a more one-sided game. It was a great victory.

"Going into the break we felt 1-0 was just deserved but the second half was a one-sided game, to be honest.

"I noticed at the end when they had a shot all the Villa fans were cheering. It was a great victory and always important to get a lot of goals.

"It's always nice to get goals, especially at the Emirates. The fans have been fantastic to me. My little boy Finley was here today, which was fantastic to see. The finish was great but it's all about the three points."

Walcott hailed teammate Ozil, who started off the rout by feeding Olivier Giroud for the opener before adding the second himself.

"Mesut has worked tremendously hard since coming back from injury, like myself. He showed it on the pitch today," Walcott added. "It's not going to happen overnight [for me], but to be honest it has for him.

"In two games from coming back he's scored two goals and it's not just that, it's his whole general play in terms of interchange with players and putting balls in behind. His touch is absolutely fantastic and it was a fantastic finish.

"In the treatment room, we have spent a lot of time together. Since Mesut joined the club I haven't really had the opportunity to play with him and I'm very grateful I'm with such a great talent. Hopefully we will stay fit and charge on in the Premier League.

"Everyone, the whole crowd, is buzzing around the place and when a team is on the top of their game everything happens for them. It seems everything happens for us at the moment."