London: Seventeen-year-old Theo Walcott quickly made a mark on his Premier League debut, setting up Arsenal's equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on the opening day of the season on Saturday.
Arsenal were in danger of losing their first match at the new Emirates stadium after falling behind to Olof Mellberg's 53rd-minute goal but Gilberto Silva levelled in the 83rd from a cross by the livewire Walcott.
"I know a lot is expected from him but I am pleased," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger of Walcott, who was picked by former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for the World Cup but did not feature in any games in Germany.
"He had that sharpness that we missed and was dangerous on the left flank. He was involved in the goal and his overall performance was very positive," Wenger told BBC Sport.
"It was a typical beginning of the season game where the players were not completely ready physically," added Wenger, who was critical of the timing of a spate of international friendlies in midweek.
Wenger said the friendlies had disrupted his preparations for the start of the season massively.
"It is very difficult to take on board that you're in pre-season and your players are away," he said.
"We had seven players who played for 90 minutes far away and when they come back it's very short (time) to prepare and there's a real conflict between the importance of our game today and the ridiculous importance of the national team games."
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