Wenger: Theo hat-trick no surprise

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The 19-year-old chalked up his first full international goals in some style as Fabio Capello's men put themselves on the road to South Africa 2010 with a convincing 4-1 win in the Maksimir Stadium.

"I am not surprised because he is a player who has good timing with his runs and is a clinical finisher who can score goals," said Wenger. "But I always believed that he will be a fantastic player and I was never concerned."

He added: "For me, most of all is that he continues to develop as a team player.

"What happened on Wednesday we have to consider to be an exception - even for players of 25, 26 to score three goals in an international game is a one-off."

Wenger added: "At the start of the season Theo had made a step forward and you could see that in training.

"Theo has become more of a man and more mature in his game, developed his link play, his first touch, his commitment - and there is still a lot to come from 19 to 23 years old."

Wenger believes Walcott can develop into a central striker, but for the moment is happy enough for the youngster to continue learning his trade on the flanks.

"He can play down the middle, but at the moment, I do not believe he is ready," said the Arsenal manager.

"He is still learning his job on the right or the left, sometimes through the middle - but block him against the line and then show us you can do it because that makes it easier for us in the middle."