Theo Walcott explains why Arsenal's new signing Alexandre Lacazette reminds him of Jermain Defoe

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says the Gunners' new signing Alexandre Lacazette reminds him of England international striker Jermain Defoe.

The 26-year-old France international became Arsenal's club-record signing as he arrived on a €60m (£52.6m, $68m) deal from Lyon. Lacazette scored 37 goals across all competitions last season, out of which 28 of them came in Ligue 1.

Defoe, on the other hand, scored 15 goals and registered two assists in 37 appearances for Sunderland in the 2016-17 season. However, the 34-year-old's goals were not enough to keep the Black Cats from being relegated from the Premier League.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man will remain in the Premier League, however, after he completed his switch to AFC Bournemouth on a free transfer in June.

Walcott has compared Lacazette's goal scoring prowess to his compatriot. "The French league is very physical league but he looks like he's in good nick.

"He reminds me a bit of Jermain Defoe in that he sees the target, shoots and scores," Walcott told Arsenal Player.

"That's what I've seen of him in little clips, so hopefully he can bring those attributes to the team. There's loads of competition for places which is healthy as always, but we're looking strong."

Meanwhile, Walcott also stressed the importance of having pace in Arsenal's attack. He believes that smaller teams in England's top flight club competition prefer to sit deep and defend, and having pace helps to unlock opposition defences.

"Pace in the Premier League is the most important thing for me. It's hard because a lot of teams drop back, sit back against us and it's tight because there's not a lot of space in behind," the England international stressed.

"You have to find different ways of breaking them down but that's why you've got all these clever players like Mesut [Ozil] to get through them differently. Pace is always a threat.

"When you're counter-attacking, it wins all the time. As long as we've got pace in this team, we're going to be OK."