England hopeful Walcott was disappointed to miss the World Cup but he took his tally of league goals to four with the opener at Ewood Park. And afterwards the winger said: "I've had a good think in the summer - I didn't blame anyone else for not being at the World Cup but didn't read too much into it because I had a nice break, I've not had one for a long time. "Now I just want to get playing and show people what I can do...it's for me to push on and get on the goal sheet a bit more often." Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia added on Sky Sports: "We have improved our defensive work, I think the team is more strong. "The boys did well today, everyone realises how hard the league is and tries to get better every year." Gunners boss Arsene Wenger added on Sky Sports: "I'm convinced we have more experience in the box - but no matter who you are, they (Blackburn) give you a strong test. We were a bit lucky at some stages but overall we showed really good commitment." On Walcott, he said: "Give credit to him, he's a young boy and will only improve." The Frenchman believes striker Robin van Persie could be facing eight to 10 days out with the twisted ankle sustained in the first half of the contest. And on the transfer window, he added: "At the moment, it's all dead. For us, the transfer period is already over." On his team's Carling Cup third-round draw at Tottenham, he added: "It's exciting. We always play our young team in the Carling Cup. It will be interesting and a good experience for them. We have some very good young players." Rovers boss Sam Allardyce said: "Scoring more goals is the only thing we have slipped up on today. "We were slightly disappointed we haven't taken advantage of our first-half performance to get a lead because I thought we deserved it - but you can't switch off for a split second against Arsenal and that's what's happened today. "Overall it was a very, very good performance. Look at the open play statistics and how many times we got into the final third. It's nothing to do with the perception of long balls. "The long balls come from Paul Robinson on dead balls but in open play we were getting in behind them for fun in the first half - we just couldn't produce the final ball enough." Asked if he plans on doing any further business in the transfer window, Allardyce added: "I don't think so, not unless something miraculous turns up - although it's a manic, frantic 48 hours. We're just waiting for a work permit with Benjani. "We've just got to turn our performances into good results and we'll have a reasonable season. I don't think we should have lost today."
