Theo Walcott

Name Theo Walcott
Born March 16, 1989
Middlesex
England
Position Attacking Midfielder
Squad Number 14
Previous Club(s) Southampton
Joined Arsenal January 20, 2006
Arsenal Debut Aston Villa (h)
Premiership
August 19, 2006,
Drew 1-1


14. Theo Walcott


One of the most exciting talents at the Club. Bought in January 2006 from Southampton to a fanfare of publicity, the winger went on to be chosen for England’s World Cup squad for Germany that summer without having represented his new club.

Theo’s Arsenal debut eventually came on August 23, 2006 against Dinamo Zagreb. He put in some lively cameos at the start of the campaign and famously grabbed his first goal in the Carlling Cup Final against Chelsea.

Last season, he continued to make an impression on the international stage. He became the youngest player to represent England at 17 years 175 days and the youngest player to score for the Under-21 side.


                                                My Year

April

‘That run’ against Liverpool was undoubtedly the highlight of Theo’s April. Running from one box to the other, leaving four Liverpool players in his wake, he eventually set-up Emmanuel Adebayor for the simplest of tap-ins in front of the away fans. Elsewhere he continued to develop into a terrifying wide man, scoring against Derby and appearing in every game. He capped the month off with the Arsenal.com Player of the Month award.

March

Theo enjoyed another successful month with the Club as he registered an assist in the win over Milan and made match-saving impacts in several other fixtures during March. The youngster also earned a recall to the England squad days after his 19th birthday.

February

An explosive end to the month for Theo with two goals at Birmingham, his first strikes in the Premier League. An injury prevented the 18-year-old from featuring until the final minutes of the draw with AC Milan, where he nearly unlocked the visitors defence with a stunning cross that was headed against the crossbar. He was handed a starting berth at St Andrews and seized the opportunity with both hands.

January

Theo Walcott grabbed the equalising goal in the Carling Cup Semi-Final First-Leg against Spurs. He featured in six other games as he continued to grow as a player both through the middle and out wide.

December

An injury-hit month for Theo meant the youngster featured just three times. Illness put pay to his involvement over the Christmas period but after a strong start to the season, he can look forward to 2008 with much excitement.

November

Theo continued his footballing education with a selection of starts and substitute appearances in November. He played a part in the last-gasp equaliser against Manchester United and started twice.

October

Theo enjoyed one of his best months in an Arsenal shirt. The youngster scored twice on his first Champions League start and had previously made game-changing impacts from the substitutes bench against Sunderland and Bolton — setting up Robin van Persie and Rosicky respectively. He played twice for England Under-21s as they continued their unbeaten start to the European qualifying campaign.