Walcott upbeat despite Dynamo draw

'Good result'
While United failed to find a way past Villarreal CF in a goalless stalemate at Old Trafford, the Londoners needed a William Gallas strike from close range two minutes from time to rescue a point following Ismaël Bangoura's 64th-minute penalty opener for the hosts. "The first game is always tough," Walcott said. "Look at Manchester United. They got a draw as well and had a very tough game. I know we were expected to win but getting a draw was a good result considering how the game went."

'It was difficult'
Arsenal struggled all night to produce their trademark game of quick passing and movement, with Dynamo working hard to hold them off and enjoying the lion's share of possession. "It was very difficult for us at points during the game," added Walcott. "Obviously, the other team did not really let us get down to play our football. Still, I think we had some very good passages during the game and did some good things."

'Nothing supernatural'
Dynamo captain Andriy Nesmachniy was less impressed with what he saw from Walcott and the Premier League giants, however, despite the 19-year-old England international setting up Gallas's late strike. "Everybody is talking about him these days," commented the left-back. "Yes, he is a good runner, but no more than that. Nothing supernatural. Why aren't you talking about Dynamo? We have a full squad of players who did very well tonight."

Missed chance
Nesmachniy was left ruing ruing missed chances, in fact, particularly after Bangoura and Olexandr Aliyev failed to finish off a swift counterattack towards the end. "We have no one to blame but ourselves," he said. "It was ours to win. If only Bangoura and Aliyev had done better when racing clear against one defender, we would have killed the game off. It's our old sickness – we conceded a late goal yet again."