THEO EXITS SPOTLIGHT
SELFLESS Theo Walcott sacrificed his shot of a hat-trick to let Olivier Giroud bury BATE with his 100th Arsenal goal.
The Englishman struck twice in the opening 22 minutes before Rob Holding had the Gunners three up before their Europa League clash was even half an hour in.
But when Stanislav Dragun conceded a penalty for a tug on Shkodran Mustafi’s shirt with the score 3-1, Walcott stepped aside to allow Giroud the spoils.
The 28-year-old said: “As a forward you want to score as many goals as you can. There was a chance for me to take the penalty but Olivier was on 99 goals.
“It’s a great moment in his career to get 100 goals for Arsenal. I’ve achieved that and I know the feeling – it is brilliant. That is why he took the penalty. I can’t be too selfish.”
Arsene Wenger made nine changes to a winning team but the Group H win was not as one-sided as the score suggested amid a shaky defensive display.
Jack Wilshere brushed off his failure to make the latest England squad to set up Walcott’s first with a deft cross.
BATE keeper Denis Scherbitski then passed the ball to Walcott, gifting him a close-range finish for his second.
Mirko Ivanic pulled one back before Giroud’s spot-kick as Mikhail Gordeychuk went on to slot home when David Ospina parried a header.
Walcott said: “We don’t want to concede sloppy goals but on the other hand when you score four away from home, you are always likely to win. We’re really pleased with that.”