Arsenal forward Theo Walcott cannot wait to line up in front of defender Bacary Sagna again once the Frenchman returns from injury.

Sagna has been the manager Arsene Wenger's first-choice right-back since moving from Auxerre in 2007, and was one of the Gunners' better performers early on in the season when they were going through an awful patch of form.

However, an injury picked up last October in the 2-1 loss to north-London rivals Tottenham has caused him to miss over three months of action, although the 28-year-old has since returned to training and could feature against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday, something that Walcott is excited about.

"Bac shows good qualities at right-back," Walcott said on the club's official website.

"We have had players come in and do fairly well considering they are not full-backs, but Bac is a player I bond very well with on the pitch.

"We work very well together and get on great. It's nice to see him back, because that memory of Tottenham when he broke his leg is not nice.

"It's good to see him smiling again and enjoying training. He is a player that I think we have missed."

In Sagna's absence, Swiss international Johan Djourou has been an unconvincing deputy, and was severely exposed in last weekend's 2-1 loss to Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium, where he was put to the sword on numerous occasions by Nani.