However, following his virtuoso display against West Brom, Wenger said Walcott had the necessary attributes to rival Olivier Giroud as the spearhead of the Gunners’ attack in the future.

“I’ve always said that Theo can play in the middle because he has good movement and good finishing. And he did that well today,” Wenger said.

“He’s a good scorer but he has been out for nearly a year. And, in a football, that’s a long, long time to be back at your best, to regain your sharpness and confidence.

“Theo is the right age – 26 years old is a good age for a footballer. I just wish he stays free of injuries now. You have to be consistently present to express your full potential.”

Walcott is now entering the final year of a three-and-a-half-year £100,000-a-week contract but having reached an impasse in recent weeks, Wenger confirmed the club had started discussions with his representatives about a new deal.

“Without a hat-trick, with a hat-trick, we want him to stay. We are in negotiations now,” Wenger said.

“We’re starting to speak with his agent and that was before his hat-trick.”

Wenger, who said he has no fresh injury worries ahead of the FA Cup final against Aston Villa on Saturday, felt his side would have given champions Chelsea a harder challenge for the Premier League title had it not been for their slow start in August and September.

Next season, he feels they will close the gap, especially as finishing third means they won’t have to negotiate a two-legged Champion League play-off in August.

“We can prepare well because we don’t have a qualifier for the Champions League now. That’s a massive thing as having to play away between two league game at the start of the season is never easy,” Wenger said.

Albion manager Tony Pulis praised the movement of Walcott but blamed the defeat on his own selection-making, saying that, following the outstanding 3-0 victory over Chelsea at The Hawthorns last Monday, he should have freshened up his starting XI.

“If anybody needs to take any criticism then it’s probably me. The Chelsea game took a lot out of the players. You could say today was a game too far,” he said.

Nevertheless, Pulis has transformed the club, guiding Albion away from the relegation zone and securing 13th place with a tally of 44 points.

Asked to sum up the season since he took the helm on January 2, replacing the sacked Alan Irvine, Pulis replied: “It’s been fantastic.

“This has probably been the toughest job I’ve had for all sort of reasons. But the players have been fantastic. They deserve a lot of credit.”