England star wants an extended first-team run with Arsenal

England forward Theo Walcott has begged Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to give him a run in the first team.

The 23-year-old opened the scoring in the Gunners’ 2-2 Champions League draw with Schalke on Tuesday night.

But despite that effort being his eighth goal of the season, yesterday’s match was his first start in the Premier League or Europe since his contract stand-off began in August.

However, Walcott believes his recent run of good form – which included a hat-trick in the League Cup win over Reading last week – should be rewarded with a starting place.

He said: "I just want to play and hopefully now I can get a run in the team because I feel I fully deserve it.”

Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead to the Germans, meaning Group B remains wide open.

The north Londoners, Schalke and Greek side Olympiakos can all go through to the last 16.

But Walcott, who had a sore throat and stomach upset before the game, added: "It was a good point in the end. It would have been a fantastic victory but Schalke are a tough side.

"We are just trying to win our last couple of games and that is all you can do. As long as you do that then you have a very good chance of going through."