<
>

Theo Walcott: Arsene Wenger gave Al Pacino-style inspirational speech

Theo Walcott has said Arsene Wenger has tried to inspire Arsenal players to the Premier League by giving an impassioned speech reminiscent of Al Pacino's in "Any Given Sunday."

Arsenal beat Burnley 2-1, thanks to Alexis Sanchez's penalty in added time, to go second in the Premier League but they trail leaders Chelsea by eight points.

The Gunners haven't won the title since 2004 but Wenger's determination to secure it again is as big as ever.

Walcott told Arsenal's YouTube channel: "He did a speech the other day. I won't be able to do the speech because it was that good. It genuinely reminded me of that film 'Any Given Sunday' and I actually said that to him.

"I was a bit embarrassed and didn't know if he'd seen the film, but he showed his passion and how long it's been since we've won the title.

"He wants it like all of his players, but you can tell he really wants it which is really good to see."

Wenger himself, though, said the Pacino comparison was well wide of the mark.

"You know I'm a very bad actor, I tell you. That comparison is certainly not right," he said at a news conference on Thursday, adding that most of the speech was done off the cuff. "You speak with your emotions and sometimes we get it better than other times, like all people who speak a lot. Overall I don't remember what I said in fact."