Theo Walcott: Arsenal want revenge against Man United

Theo Walcott admits Arsenal are gunning for revenge against Manchester United in the Champions League.

Walcott has nightmare memories of the way his side crashed out of the competition last season when they were beaten in the semis.

United embarrassed the North London club with a 3-1 victory at the Emirates and ran out comfortable winners over the two legs.

Walcott is adamant that they have learned a great deal from that horror display and looked back to their best when they thrashed Porto 5-0 on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals.

With the draw for the last eight in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday, Walcott says they would love the chance to set the record straight against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and show they have the quality to win the European Cup.

When asked if the United defeat was embarrassing for Arsenal, Walcott said: “Of course it was.

“We’ve had disappointments in this competition over the last couple of years – Manchester United in the semis last year. We need to build on results. Hopefully, if it comes to it we’ll learn from our mistakes and try to go one step further.

“We were very ­disappointed in the games we played [against United]. We want to do something for the fans.

“As long as we win ­something this year and bring something back for them because they’ve been very patient when we haven’t won anything.

“This year we’ve got a great chance of doing well.

“If we get an English team, it will be like a Premier League battle. We want to go that one step further.”

Walcott is hoping United and the rest of Europe would have been scared by their powerful display against Porto and will fear facing them in the next round.

Arsene Wenger’s side looked unstoppable as they cruised into the last eight, despite missing key players including influential ­skipper Cesc Fabregas. Walcott added: “Five-nil will have an effect on other clubs – hopefully they will be wary of us.

“Arsenal is a big club – every club that plays us fears us.

“We’ve got great people going forward, great ­defenders. You look at the way we played, we took all our chances and ­defended very well.

“Thomas [Vermaelen] was throwing his body in places where you wouldn’t want to see. It was teamwork and it went fantastically well.”

Walcott is praying his injury problems are now behind him and he is desperate to prove his critics wrong and play a major role for both club and country this season.

He says he will only listen to Arsene Wenger and Fabio Capello. Walcott said: “I listen to the best people around me – the boss, Mr Capello, all my family. I don’t look at the outside of things — I concentrate on the training ground.

“The best thing is to do your talking on the pitch.

“I’m only 20. People think I’m mid-20s, but I’ve learnt from the best – ­Thierry, Robin, Andrey, Cesc. I feel I can build on my ­performances.”