Arsenal legend Ian Wright has hit out at former Liverpool captain Alan Hansen for his criticism of Theo Walcott.

In his column for The Sun, Wright wrote: "Picture the scene. Theo Walcott has just scored a brilliant hat-trick to help Arsenal thrash Blackpool 6-0 at the Emirates.

"He settles down to watch the highlights on Match of the Day, looking forward to seeing it all over again. But then he gets slaughtered by Alan Hansen. Totally and unnecessarily insulted.

"He's told he cannot cross. How he cannot do this, isn't very good at that - and how, when he thinks too much, there are problems. For me, that's Hansen basically saying the lad is thick - which is insulting and very, very wrong.

"I bet Theo, 21, was staring at the TV thinking 'what the hell can I do to get people off my back?' Now, I know Hansen has a job to do. But he went way over the top. It was harsh, it was unnecessary and it was bang out of order.

"I'm not saying Theo should be immune to any criticism. He will agree his crossing needs to be worked on.

"But please, give the guy a break. This is a young English player learning his trade and striving to get better. Yet here we have a bloke like Hansen criticising just for the sake of it."