After putting pen-to-paper on a three and a half year deal at Goodison Park, Theo Walcott took to social media to thank the Arsenal faithful and all those who helped him during his 12 years as a Gunner.
The attacker, who moved to Highbury in 2006, made 399 appearances in the red and white shirt and scored 108 goals.
Here’s what Theo had to say on his departure…
“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved at Arsenal, manager, coaches, backroom staff, and all the many people at the club that have been part of my family for the past 12 years.
“I would also like to thank all my team mates I have had the pleasure of playing alongside, but most importantly the fans for their incredible support. I feel sad to leave but also excited for a new challenge. I wish everyone at the club every success for the future.”
Arseblog News wishes Theo all the best at Everton…just don’t score against us when you make your return on 3 February.
— Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) January 17, 2018
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved @Arsenal – manager, coaches, backroom staff, and all the many people at the club that have been part of my family for the past 12 years. 1/2
— Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) January 17, 2018
2/2 I would also like to thank all my team mates I have had the pleasure of playing alongside, but most importantly the fans for their incredible support. I feel sad to leave but also excited for a new challenge. I wish everyone at the club every success for the future.
— Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) January 17, 2018
Was theo the last player link to highbury?
More to the point, who’s going to be bottom bunk if and when Joel Campbell returns from loan?
Great deal. Frankly I would put every single one (barring a few of course) of the squad for sale in the summer. Sell them all, take the money free the wage bill and start building from scratch.
After what has transpired this season, am very convinced that most of them clearly are not fit enough to wear the shirt.
With the amount of holes already in the squad, and the number of players aging or out of contract in the summer, we essentially already will be starting from scratch come the summer. We need to be proactive and get some business done this month in order to integrate some players bedded in now, otherwise it will be a massive task with the world cup in the summer. By my count, we were in need of six players before the sales of Walcott and coquelin, and with the injury to giroud, we likely now need 9 players. Some players may… Read more »
I always hammered him when he’s was an Arsenal player. I thought he was such a soft cunt at times. And some of the shite he used to do drove me up the fucking wall. I just wish he fucking put himself about a bit more. Showed a bit more physicality and bottle, and didnt fucking hide so much at key moments when we fucking needed him so badly to do something. But on reflection I guess I was maybe a bit too harsh on him. He did still provide me with some truly amazing moments as an Arsenal fan… Read more »
Theo saying: I thank most importantly the fans for their incredible support.
It shows he doesn’t read fan comments. I always defend Theo and will always remember the amazing run against Liverpool that is part of top 10 or even top 5 all time best Arsenal plays for me.
Great comment.
Favourite moment: The 2-0 hand gesture to the Spurs fans while being stretchered off 🙂
Without a doubt!
He’s that fit missus you hate but when it comes down to the it and off trot, you kinda miss
Whatever about his quality or suitability to our style, he’s a player who ‘got’ the club in much the same way that Wilshere and Mertesacker do, and that Szczesny did. In many ways, he’s a figure who represents the club of the last twelve years. Frustration, a sense of potential unrealised, an experiment in an English core, and moments of undeniable quality.
From a country where the president values the life of cattles than humans who are killed in Hundreds by herds men (Nigeria) I think nothing will shake me any more not even Arsenal transfer policies and lukewarm attitude. I wish Theo all the best and please score an own goal when next play Everton.
while he joined in January 2006, I don’t believe his debut came until August in the Emirates
Meanwhile somewhere in the Antarctic Lord Bendtner celebrate birthday shirtless on a horse. http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/the-toe-poke/65/post/3351434/nicklas-bendtner-celebrates-birthday-with-shirtless-horseback-glamour-shot
“Consistent in patches”
Words straight from the man himself, I think sums up his career with us perfectly.
Thanks for the memories and good luck in the rest of your career. Just not against us. All the best.
More importantly, do we have fucking 11 players for Saturday? Or have we sold them all and forgotten to replace them.
Thanks, Theo. All the best.
I would also like to say thanks to Theo and I hope when he plays us he still hasn’t learnt the offside rule
He looks weird in an Everton shirt. All the best though Theo.✌️?
His was the first name I ever got on an Arsenal shirt, back in 2011. Followed by Szczesny, Alexis, and Ozil. Hopefully one of those will still be at the club by the end of the summer…
Hmmmm….
Alright mate, I think it’s time we stop you from getting anymore of our players name on the back of your jersey now.
Related to @Gunnerblog?
Can’t wait for you to get El Neny on your shirt then…
Thanks, Feo!
An injury ravaged squad that struggles to score goals just keeps getting smaller, lets hope we have a plan…..yeah i know.
How many players do you generally keep on your FIFA team?
I don’t play fifa to busy having a life.
Said the man named after a Harry Potter villain.
kids = busy.
And billy batts is your real name. You must have had a tough childhood. Voldermort, my kids idea years ago as in he who shall not be named. Get it ? On a site that nobody uses real names ? No thought you wouldn’t.
Voldermort doesn’t play fifa.He is to busy in telling every1 that he is busy!
Good point
Seems like you’re all too busy for correct grammar.
Or complete sentences.
ouch.
Destroooyyed haha
Glad I have time for the odd game of Fifa every now and then.
I’m thinking of buying every Arsenal player that leaves the club. Very cheap purchases and look at the Ox! 🙂
What is dead may never die, Mr. Walcott. Take care, and I hope you score bunches of goals. Just not against us.
Har de har har! This comment wins for more ways than one. Well done Huss! ?
Strange. Why so many downers for appreciating Huss’s well received comment?! ?
100+ goals for the club puts him in some great company. i still get goosebumps watching ‘that run’ vs liverpool. good luck theo, and thank you!
who will ever forget him telling us the score from his stretcher against the Spuds. Legend
I really wanna like this, but it reads 2-0 and I don’t wanna be the one to ruin it!
Sad. But it was time for him to go.
All the best Theo. Hope you revive your career and play for England as well.
who would thumb this comment down?? we have a few POS fans among us!
I feel sad and I will miss him! It’s a shame WE (as a club) could not get him to fulfil his potential!
(Ps. to the Wengerout brigade, I write this statement as an Arsenal fan and person who appreciates those that try and those who appreciate the club as well. Still annoyed with his performance against Nottingham Forrest but still remember his 2-0 gesture towards the spuds as he was strechered off:-)
What you on about?
Only 1 person failed to develop Theo to what he could have been. Instilled discipline in his game and challenged him
Hope he plays every game up front and scores shitloads.
I will miss Theo, but the reality is that it’s the best choice for all parties. Good luck to him!
Well Arsenal become that little bit more weaker.
And Sanchez will be off next.
And it was revealed in a UEFA report that Arsenal make the more from their fans than any other club in Europe.
Perhaps that is the key.
To stop turning up…
Lets gets behind Arsenal
No matter how incompetently managed they are.
Or how much money they fleece from the fans.
Lets talk up useless crap like Iwobi into world class players
Lets just pretend that we are doing well and who knows we might start believing it.
Really, I cannot believe you would thumbs down the truth.
If only reading bullshit stories linking us to every player would make it so.
Come 31st you will find Arsenal in a much worse position than we were – there will be no big signings, there NEVER is.
Yeah, never. Right. Never got Lacazette. Never got Sanchez. Never got Ozil. Never, never, never.
Granted his “never is” comment is a bit OTT. But, there are elements of truth here in the rest of what ArseaboutFace posts. Much talk about big new signings…little on action so far, & our track history in the Jan window isn’t the greatest with a few exceptions. Are you genuinely confident that come the 31st, the big 3 new touted potential signings will be in an Arsenal shirt? Really not sure that I am. Being honest, I have some niggling doubts there’ll even be one…but I sincerely hope that I’m wrong on this.
The Kroenkes are fleecing the team and the fans for every penny they can, just like they do with every other franchise they own- drained of talent, drained of interest.
As someone who lives in an area dominated by kroenke owned sports teams, the two which are successful (by and large) are the ones with no kroenke involvement. The sooner we see the back of stan and josh, the better.
Apart from Alexis and Ozil you mean? 😉
It was time but it still doesn’t feel good.
Walcott is the player that charts most closely the peaks and troughs of Arsenal in the last 12 years. Signed with an eye on purchasing promising youth players to allow us to compete, we all hoped he would become the heir apparent to Thierry Henry. Glimpses (Liverpool away in the Champions League) of that talent we caught every now and then punctuated by incredibly frustrating moments (cowardly pulling out of a tackle at Sunderland away). Nonetheless, you don’t score 100 goals for the club whilst being shit. The reality in my mind for Walcott falls in between the spectrum of… Read more »
This sums things up perfectly imo.
Consistently inconsistent.
Time to give the younger boys like nketiah some playing time. Might as well if we’re going to be mediocre. Good luck Theo.
I would like to wish Theo all the best – a good lad but not so great player, at least for Arsenal.
My greatest concern is that no one seems to be questioning the strength of the squad or just what is a man who is paid eight million a year doing.
From where I stand he seems to be doing fuck all.
As usual…
tbf he is presumably involved in negotiations with Dortmund, Lille and Man Utd
Who are we buying from Lille and why is he involved?
it was supposed to be Bordeaux, but I have a very strange autocorrect program
Feel quote emotional Theo going, im not sure why, I dont think he developed as a footballer, his touch and ability on the ball leaves something to be desired and he should have left after his last contract, however he is one of the few players we can truly say, loved the club and I fear now we have just Jack!!
Good luck Theo, TOP MAN
Nacho Monreal? 🙂 Not just Jack…
Walcott, like many other recent players, was both a beneficiary and a victim of Wenger’s Emirates-era approach. A beneficiary of Wenger’s loyalty and trust in young players (many other managers would have sold him years ago) and a victim of the lack of structure and clear tactical planning. In the 4-2-3-1, when fit, he was a very effective right winger, one of the most productive in the Premier League.
Call him whatever you want to call him. IMO, TW14 is an Arsenal legend.
Wish you all the best lad.
Legend? Jeez some perspective please.
Good luck Theodore
Good luck Theo!
We’ll look forward to fighting for the Europa spot next season.
And do us a favor would ya, when you come up against Mesut and Alexis up at old Trafford ..would you take a yellow with each of them and make sure they feel the studs. Nice one mate, you’re a ..Gooner! Gooner!!!
Good luck Theo and all the best!
Fare thee well, Theo, I hope Everton’s style of play and yours are a better fit and we can see what you are capable of with a key role.
108 goals and many assists can’t be scoffed at.
Great person, gave me many highlights in my over 25 years as a fan.
Will miss u as u get back to ur best.
Nice guy
Theo on the stretcher taunting the Sp*rs fans is my greatest memory of him.
Maybe that says a lot.
TBH I feel a bit sad about Theo leaving. Sure, he only came into form last year, but 17 goals is a lot more than anyone looks like getting this year.
And who can forget him trolling the Spuds in their 2-0 defeat after he’d done his ACL. Legend. All the best mate.
Haha. I didn’t realise Everton had “Angry Birds” on their sleeves. That’s really shit. Anyway, all the best to Theo. Some great performances here and there amongst sadly a lot of games where he went completely missing. I’ve never known a player to go from sublime to awful so variably. I will always treasure the slip over and get back up again goals against Chelsea and Newcastle and the 2-0 gesture from the stretcher against Sp*rs, in particular. If he performed like he did in the games he played well on a regular basis he wouldn’t be leaving the club… Read more »
Unfortunate ad placement blogs, meant that the post read: “Here’s what Theo had to say on his departure… For all your sewer & septic tank needs please contact Mathis & Sons” I was then glad to find out his actual comments were far more reasonable. I wish Theo well in his new adventures. Not always his biggest fan, & feel at times he was capable of more…but he did score some cracking goals. Believe under better management & coaching he will go on to greater things. Wish we had news of players coming in rather than just players leaving. Hopefully… Read more »
Welbeck returned from injury on a career rock bottom lvl, I did dome spark during last 15 mins of last game, which we simply have to hope is a sign of massive rise of form around tve corner….. cause yes he will certainly stay
All the best and take care. Must be gutted not getting your 400th appearance.
Ever the nice chap. Cheers, Theo. Be seeing ya!
It’s surprising how drastically he was frozen out of first team action (no league starts since last April). I get that Welbeck and Iwobi are more involved in the build-up play, but they don’t actually score or assist, which Theo, for all his faults, actually does
Class act. Just not terribly passionate. That said, I recall how excited I was for he and Ozil to link up and score loads. Anyhow, smart move on his part. He’ll play regularly and Everton at least have some fluency in their play, which I can’t say is the case with us.
Sad times, will be missed. Doesnt deserve nearly half the stick he has gotten by some “fans”. 100+ goals, a couple trophies to tell the kids about. It’s not the career we thought he might have had when he first signed 12 years ago but it wasnt half bad for a “sprinter” eh? Good luck Theo!
Good luck, Theo!
He tried with us for many seasons including one mercurial one. BUT I think he’s a player in which we have to use and play to his strengths and in the end he did not develop a full range of abilities. Good price and we free up wages, he gets to go to a team who may use him better than us or which his style may be more effective with (provided he doesn’t stray off side) We have to invest the money back in wisely. I’m not sure if I am enthused with bringing in a Malcolm unless (if… Read more »
Everybody is escaping from the old man’s ship. Unfortunately, as a fan I can’t sign to elsewhere
thank god he has gone sooo pleased he has gone, now to get rid of ozil
Do you even watch us play? Have you noticed how bereft of ideas and creativity we are without him?
Our gameplay and structure is in complete shambles right now and were reliant on individual brilliance in our players to make shit happen, that’s why we need Ozil more than ever.
If true then keeping Ozil just papers over the cracks and leaves us dependent on his mercurial talent. Maybe getting rid of Ozil will force us to adopt a better approach, or build a better team.
To save the village you need to destroy the village.
Whatever, I’m just glad that something seems to be happening.
Genuinely sad he has left. Of all the likely departures this one hurts the most.
He leaves with professionalism and dignity. Offering the greatest respect to the fans, club, teammates, staff and manager.
I wish him all the best. It sounds strange but here’s hoping regular game time and a new project can unleash the Theo we saw a few seasons back where he was magnificent.
TW14
Good luck Theo. You were always my number one scapegoat, but now I’m full of sadness.
Good luck Theo
A gent to the last. Wish him the best. I named my German Shepherd after him. Theo died last November so chapter is properly closed now. Random ?
A great respectful post Chrispy that is fitting, but sad mate
🙁
So Aubameyang can take no. 14 or if he prefers 17 then Iwobi could take it
As many of the posts attest, Theo’s greatest talent was for PR. How many messages above are along the lines of “he said the right things all the time off the pitch, but didn’t do the right things on the pitch that often”?. That for me is his legacy. We’ll see over the coming seasons just how much of that was due to mismanagement.
Good luck to him, but let’s not gush about him being a legend.
Whats your definition of a football legend? Can you give us 5 wingers example who deserved being called legend in arsenal since 2006?
Because, what, football started in 2006? Time started in 2006? The point of legends is that they’re infrequent and stand out from the crowd. That’s kind of what makes them legends. Otherwise they’re just “the last bloke to play in a given position”. Stop me if I’m going too fast.
I have wanted Theo to move on for years and years, why he was preferred to the ox for so long is to me unexplainable. yet seing Theo in rival shirt felt like a dagger deep in my heart. The guy has a very nice character, even if it was obvoius he doesnt have it in him to develop the in possession penetration football qualities AW wanted from him, I always believed he could be a monster at clubs with a more direct and counter attack oriented football, very much look forward to follow his Everton adventure. If he gets… Read more »
I was lucky to be in London in the autumn of 2014 and see the game against Burnley at the Emirates… my compatriot Wojtek Szczęsny was still in goal and Theo ( coming back from a long term injury ) came on in the second half to the big , big crowd applause …Theo,Theo ! i’ll never forget this ! it is very sad to see him go even though recently he wasn’t really special anymore 🙁
Good night, sweet Theodore.
I wanted him gone so we can buy new players but now that he is gone i feel REALLY SAD , Good Bye Theo , thanks for the memories.
Where the hell are our signings, we’ve sold £80m (Walcott, Ox, Coq & Gabriel) worth of players and knocked off £500k a week in wages.
On the verge of selling our best player to our rival and look incredibly weak.
I find myself looking forward to press conferences to see if we’re buying anyone and we never get any answers. Stop lying to the fans you old goat.
DO SOMETHING
Blaming Wenger for the departures and lack of signings is like blaming the weatherman for the rain. He doesn’t control the budget, the board does.