Theo Walcott has matured immeasurably this season. Not just in the way he plays in games, but also what he says outside it.
Of course, Walcott has never been the controversial type, but recent comments from the Arsenal forward suggest there is that bit of leadership quality coming out; almost as if he feels like it is now up to him to take up the mantle following the departures of some of the big names in recent years.
Walcott recently stressed on the importance of winning things as a team, saying personal accolades mean little if success does not come with it for the club. He also said how he now feels it is up to him and the likes of Jack Wilshere to step up and be counted when Arsenal are looking for something special.
Leaders do not exist in the Arsenal dressing room anymore, critics say, and while Walcott might not exactly be in the Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira mode, there is something there, a fire that is slowly but surely increasing, that shows how far the England international has come ever since signing with the club as a raw 16-year-old.
"If we get a bad result, you see a reaction," he told Arsenal Player. "We shouldn't have to get a bad result and then perform well in the next game. It should always be there.
"The guys have got it. Mentally, they are very strong. It's realising how we cope when we come back from those disappointing results. We just need to do it every week -- it's as simple as that.
"There's great potential there. We've had too much experience now to be challenging for fourth. We need to be challenging for the Premier League because that's what we want to be known for.
"We want to be in the history books... we need to win something now."
Some strong words from the normally soft spoken forward. There is a growing sense among the Arsenal faithful, that their team is just missing an ingredient or two to becoming great again.
Last summer's signings Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have done more than enough in their first season to show there is plenty more to come, while Nacho Monreal will give Kieran Gibbs a run for his money at left-back.
Arsenal already have the British core locked up with the likes of Walcott, Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Ramsey signing long-term contracts recently.
There are also some talented youngsters coming up from the Arsenal system, with the likes of Serge Gnabry, Thomas Eisfeld, Chuba Akpom and Hector Bellerin, to name just a few, tipped to make their mark on the senior team sooner rather than later.
Add a few more quality signings in the summer - a physical defensive midfielder, a striker who knows where the back of the net is and an experienced goalkeeper - Walcott's wish might just come true.
