Arsenal legend Ian Wright urged England international Theo Walcott not to quit the club on Tuesday despite a "rough" patch and speculation over his future. Wright, speaking ahead of the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore, said Walcott, 26, needed to work hard and regain his place after a season plagued by injury. The former teenage star, whose contract expires next year, is feeling his way back to form and manager Arsene Wenger says he hopes he will blossom into a centre-forward. However, he was ineffective from the bench as Arsenal lost 1-0 to Swansea on Tuesday, a defeat which undermined their push for next year's Champions League. "As a professional he's just got to wait his time... and push himself to make sure he starts in the first team for the start of next season," Wright told reporters. "That is what you're meant to do as a professional, you're not meant to, as soon as the going gets rough, you go to the exit, and that's not what Theo wants to do," he added. Wenger has backed Walcott to make the switch from wing to striker, following in the footsteps of Arsenal's record scorer Thierry Henry. Talks for Walcott's new contract are under way at the end of a Premier League season in which he has made just three starts after returning from a serious knee injury. But Wright, who scored 185 goals for the Gunners, said: "We need people like Theo in the team, we need him in the squad, and so hopefully he'll finish the season well. "Fingers crossed we'll win the FA cup and finish as high as we can. Theo will have a great pre-season, start the season well and this will all be forgotten." Wright added that he was "tired" about the debate over Wenger's position at the club as Arsenal head for an 11th season without winning the Premier League. But he said Arsenal, who play Aston Villa in the FA Cup final on May 30, need to strengthen with a new goalkeeper and defender in the July transfer window. "He (Wenger)'s got another two to three years left (on his contract) and he is now in the position where he has got the financial clout to go into the market and buy the same players any of the top teams will try to buy," said Wright. Arsenal are one of three Premier League teams playing at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore on July 15 and 18, along with Everton and Stoke City, plus a Singapore XI.

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba could start Wednesday's Champions League semifinal, second leg at Real Madrid after returning from injury at the weekend, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old France international, who scored for the Italian champions in Saturday's Serie A 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari after almost two months out with a thigh injury, could be key to Juve's chances of exerting control in the central areas at the Bernabeu.

Juve hold a 2-1 advantage from last week's first leg in Turin but face a formidable task to hold out against a Real attack featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and possibly a fit-again Karim Benzema.

"Pogba is in good shape," Allegri, who is seeking to lead Juve to their first final in Europe's elite club competition in a decade, told a news conference.

"I think there is a strong chance he will be on the pitch from the start," added the 47-year-old, in his first season in charge at the two-time European champions.

Juve's hopes of progressing to the showpiece in Berlin on June 6, which would be their first final since 2003, could also hinge on the performance of Carlos Tevez.

The Argentina forward has netted seven Champions League goals this season, one more than his five previous campaigns combined, and converted the penalty that clinched victory in the first leg after he was upended by Dani Carvajal.

The 31-year-old has also struck 20 Serie A goals in 2014-15, three short of his career-best domestic league haul set in 2009-10 at Manchester City.

"Tevez is playing an extraordinary season," Allegri told reporters. "He has also become a decisive figure in the Champions League after quite a long barren patch."

The successful side are likely to play Barcelona in the final after the La Liga leaders thumped 2013 winners Bayern Munich 3-0 in last week's semifinal, first leg in the Catalan capital. The return is in Munich later on Tuesday.