Theo Walcott delighted at coming through first full Arsenal training session in nine months

Theo Walcott has expressed his delight at coming through his first full training session in nine months as the Arsenal forward edges closer to full fitness after his knee injury lay-off.

The England star looked sharp as he and his Arsenal team-mates were put through their paces at London Colney.

And the speedster is expected to be fit enough to be on the substitutes bench for Arsenal against Hull on Saturday - a welcome boost to manager Arsene Wenger who is already without the likes of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.

Theo Walcott expressed his relief on Twitter at coming through his first full training session in nine months 

The England forward revelled in his return and posted this picture of him against Nacho Monreal on his personal Instagram account

 

The winger prepares to strike a volley during Arsenal's training session on Monday as he moves closer to full fitness

Walcott looks comfortable as he connects with a free-kick during the session and is in line to return against Hull on Saturday

The England midfielder tries to get the better of Per Mertesacker as Monreal waits on in the background

Walcott keeps his eye on the ball during Monday's training session as he continued his recovery from injury

Walcott is fully focused during a touch-based training drill with Flamini as he looks to get back up to speed

The speedy wideman looks determined as he competes for the ball with French midfielder Flamini

Walcott dribbles round some mannequins at London Colney as he prepares to face real, Premier League opponents

Serge Gnabry has also been out with a knee injury and he looked to be in good shape as he struck the ball during Monday's session

The winger plays a long ball in training - he has not featured for Arsenal since a Champions League match at Bayern Munich in March

Gnabry flies in to a tackle on team-mate Francis Coquelin and showed no ill-effects from his lengthy injury lay-off 

Arsenal posted a tweet through the club's official Twitter account welcoming Walcott back to full training

It will come as a relief for Wenger and the club's supporters to see Walcott striking free-kicks, connecting with volleys and running at pace during Monday's training session, and the Gunners boss hinted that a return for the winger could be imminent.

'Theo is not too far away now,' Wenger said last week. 'Serge has been out for a long, long time and Theo has also been out for nine months, so it's good to see them back. 

'They've worked very hard and they're very dedicated. They are back in the group on a daily basis and that's very good news.'  

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Walcott runs at full pace to get away from Spanish defender Monreal, who has been out with a back problem

The winger drops the shoulder to beat Monreal and both players will be hoping to make Arsenal returns against Hull on Saturday

Walcott was all smiles during the training session while Gnabry looked sharp as he was put through his paces at London Colney

Arsenal boss Wenger has praised the attitude of both Walcott and Gnabry as they have battled their way back from serious knee injuries

Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, meanwhile, has praised young defender Calum Chambers for his attitude and humility since joining the club in July.

'It is a strange one because I would imagine that to be very successful at 19 you need to be massively confident, maybe overconfident at times,' the goalkeeper told the club's official website.

'But Calum isn't - he's very humble, very quiet and he shows his confidence on the pitch. It is a massive quality because he looks very comfortable, whether you play him at right back or centre back.

'He is comfortable on the ball, he is comfortable defending and he is very strong as well. He has been a massive signing.

'The pressure was on him as well because he was 19, he came to a big club and he went straight into the starting XI but he has been coping very well.'

Walcott looked eager after also suffering the misfortune of missing the World Cup in Brazil

The former Southampton wonderkid practices his set-piece delivery during Arsenal's training session on Monday 

German defender Mertesacker tries to put in a challenge on Walcott as Spanish full back Monreal watches on