Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott
Personal information
Full name	Theo James Walcott
Date of birth	16 March 1989 (1989-03-16) (age 20)
Place of birth	Stanmore, London, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1][2]
Playing position	Striker, Winger
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	14
Youth clubs
	A.F.C. Newbury Swindon Town Southampton
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005–2006 2006–	Southampton Arsenal	21 0(4) 54 0(5)
National team2
2006– 2006 2006–	England U21 England B England	15 0(6) 01 0(0) 06 0(3)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:43, 6 December 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15:43, 6 December 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English footballer who currently plays for Arsenal and the England national football team.

Club career

Early career

Walcott was born in Stanmore, London, but grew up in the small village of Compton near Newbury, where he played for AFC Newbury and went to The Downs School secondary school. Walcott scored more than 100 goals^[3] in his one and only season for Newbury, before leaving there for Swindon Town and later for Southampton. Nike agreed to a sponsorship deal with Walcott when he was fourteen years old.^[4]

Southampton

In the 2004–05 season, he starred in the Southampton youth side that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup against Ipswich Town. In addition, he became the youngest person to play in the Southampton reserve team at 15 years and 175 days, when he came off the bench against Watford in September 2004.^[5] However, he did not play in the Premier League, as Southampton were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2004–05 season.^[6]

Before the start of the 2005–06 season, Walcott linked up with the first team's tour of Scotland, just two weeks after leaving school. The striker then went on to become the youngest-ever player to play for the Southampton first team at 16 years and 143 days, after coming on as a substitute in Southampton's 0–0 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Football League Championship.

Walcott made his full first team début away to Leeds United on 18 October 2005, scoring his first senior goal in the same game. He scored again away at Millwall four days later, and yet again in his full home debut against Stoke City the following Saturday. His rapid rise to fame also led him to be named amongst the top three finalists for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award on 11 December 2005.

Before breaking into the Southampton first team, Walcott's massive potential was showcased in the 2005 MATCH Annual. His performances soon attracted attention from the British media, who saw him as one of the most promising young English talents of his time. There was speculation that Walcott would move to the Premiership and media reports linked him with some of the league's top clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. In September 2008, Arsene Wenger confirmed that Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool were all interested in signing Walcott.^[7]

Arsenal

2005–06 season

Ultimately Walcott signed for Arsenal in January 2006 for an initial fee of £5m rising to a possible £12m^[8] based on appearances for club and country, making him the most expensive 16 year old in the history of British football.^[9] In April 2008, financial pressures forced Southampton to accept an early settlement which means that Walcott will actually have cost Arsenal around £9.1 million. The new deal is understood to involve an immediate payment to Southampton of £1.6 million followed by a further £500,000 later in the year added to the £7 million that Arsenal had already paid.^[10][11]

Walcott made his debut for the Arsenal reserves on 7 February 2006 against Portsmouth reserves at Havant, scoring once in a 3–2 defeat. Walcott was then named in an 18-man squad to face Real Madrid in a UEFA Champions League second round first-leg tie at the Bernabéu Stadium. On his 17th birthday Walcott was able to sign a full professional contract worth a reported £1 million a year.^[12]

2006–07 season

He made his Premier League début on 19 August 2006, the first day of the 2006–07 season, coming on as a substitute against Aston Villa and set up a goal for Gilberto Silva.

Walcott taking a corner

A Champions League début came in the second leg of Arsenal's third qualifying round match against Dinamo Zagreb, where Walcott became the youngest ever Arsenal player to appear in European competition, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas. Within minutes of coming on he received his first yellow card in Arsenal colours for taking a shot several seconds after the referee had already blown for offside. During stoppage time his cross beat the Dinamo defence and Mathieu Flamini scored, giving Walcott a record of two assists in two substitute appearances. His first start came in a home league game against Watford on 14 October 2006. Walcott's exploits with Arsenal and with the England team earned him the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award at the end of 2006.^[13]

Walcott's first goal for Arsenal came in the 2007 League Cup Final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 25 February 2007, becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in a League Cup final. His eleventh minute strike was overshadowed by events later on in the match as Didier Drogba scored twice to give Chelsea a 2–1 victory and three players were dismissed following a mass brawl.^[14]

2007–08 season

His first home goals were scored in a Champions League match against Slavia Prague, which Arsenal won 7–0, as well as setting up a goal for Cesc Fàbregas.^[15] Walcott scored his first Premiership goal in a match against Birmingham City at St Andrews on 23 February 2008.^[16] He finished the 2007–08 season with seven goals from all competitions.

2008–09 season

Following comparisons to former team-mate Thierry Henry^[15] Walcott was assigned Henry's former number 14 for the 2008–09 season.^[17] During the season, Walcott has established himself as a first team regular, starting many games on the right midfield or winger.

On Saturday 18 October 2008, Walcott scored his first Barclays Premier League goal of the season against Everton, scoring the third goal and final goal in the match, which Arsenal won 3–1 despite going behind to a Leon Osman goal. Three days later, Walcott scored Arsenal's second goal in a 5–2 win away to Fenerbahçe, rounding the keeper before tucking the ball away from a tight angle.

On 18 November 2008 Walcott dislocated his right shoulder while training with England for a friendly against Germany.^[18] Arsene Wenger has stated that Walcott will be sidelined for 'at least three months'.^[19]

International career

Walcott came on as a second half substitute on 25 May 2006 for the England B team against Belarus. On 30 May 2006, he became the youngest ever England player in a full international by appearing in England's friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford, aged 17 years and 75 days. England won the match 3–1.

Walcott was a surprise inclusion in Sven-Göran Eriksson's preliminary England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Even with first-choice strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both recovering from injury, Walcott was selected over established Premiership strikers such as Darren Bent (the highest-scoring English forward in the Premiership in the 2005–06 season), Andy Johnson (the top English goalscorer in the Premiership in the 2004–05 season), Dean Ashton (like Bent, already an established player at England U21 level) and England squad regular Jermain Defoe.^[20]

Despite being one of only two fully fit strikers in the England squad, he did not play during the tournament. Eriksson has since defended his decision,^[21] claiming that the experience has served him well for future tournaments. However, Eriksson's decision to include Walcott in the preliminary squad was made despite never having seen him play a professional match, and the decision was generally regarded as the most unexpected in what was seen as a surprisingly uncharacteristic set of selections. It received mixed reactions, some regarding it as an unnecessary risk when England had more established strikers, while others praised Eriksson for his willingness to "try something new". Walcott did not however play a single minute throughout England's time at the tournament.

On 15 August 2006, Walcott became the youngest player ever to score for the England under 21s when he scored the opener after three minutes in England's 2–2 draw with Moldova at Ipswich Town's ground Portman Road. The game against Moldova was his first cap for the England under 21s.

Walcott scored two goals against Germany to seal qualification for England to the Under-21 European Championships, in the playoff second leg in October 2006, with his second drawing comparisons with Thierry Henry.^[22]

On 6 September, Walcott made his first competitive start in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra, and in the following match against Croatia on 10 September 2008 he opened his senior international goals tally and became the youngest player in history to score a hat-trick for England.^[23]

International goals

Scores and results list. England's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 September 2008	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	1–0	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
2.	10 September 2008	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	2–0	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
3.	10 September 2008	Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	4–1	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Family and personal life

His family made a cameo appearance in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Theo himself was due to appear as well, but his commitments to Arsenal forced him to drop out.^[24]

Walcott and his father are both Liverpool fans. Walcott has never hidden the fact that he's a massive Liverpool supporter and even when Chelsea laid out the red carpet for him as a youngster, he used the opportunity to meet his real idols: "I was playing in a tournament for Swindon when Southampton and Chelsea showed an interest," recalls Walcott. "Chelsea invited me to be a ball-boy for a game against Liverpool and it was fantastic to meet my heroes Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler."

"I was a Liverpool fan simply because my dad followed them. Unfortunately I wasn't born when the team had their golden era, but I enjoyed watching the likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman when I was growing up. When Liverpool won the Champions League last year, I went mad. I was shouting so loud I think I woke up the entire village where I live!"^[25]. Despite these ties to Liverpool, Walcott is a fan favourite at Arsenal.

Theo Walcott has been involved with the UK Charity Build a School.^[26]

On 6 April 2008, Walcott was a torchbearer for the Olympic Flame for Beijing 2008 as it was paraded around London. He was the second last torchbearer just before Dame Kelly Holmes.

He is in a well known relationship with childhood sweetheart Melanie Slade. The couple got together after meeting in 2006 at the WestQuay shopping mall in Southampton.

Walcott's distant cousin Jacob is on the books of Reading and was called up to the England U17 squad to participate in the European Championships.

Club career statistics

(correct as of 23 October 2008)^[27]

Honours

Southampton

• Runner-up:
  • FA Youth Cup: 2005

Arsenal

• Runner-up:
  • League Cup: 2007

Individual

• BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award: 2006

References

External links

• unOfficial Theo Walcott fan site
• Theo Walcott's Stats
• Theo Walcott feature on England Team Official Site
• Theo Walcott profile at Arsenal F.C. Official Site
• Theo Walcott profile at UEFA Official Site
• Theo Walcott profile at ESPNsoccernet
• Theo Walcott Fan Site
• Theo Walcott career stats at Soccerbase
• Theo Walcott England profile at Englandstats

England squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Robinson • 2 Neville • 3 A. Cole • 4 Gerrard • 5 Ferdinand • 6 Terry • 7 Beckham • 8 Lampard • 9 Rooney • 10 Owen • 11 J. Cole • 12 Campbell • 13 James • 14 Bridge • 15 Carragher • 16 Hargreaves • 17 Jenas • 18 Carrick • 19 Lennon • 20 Downing • 21 Crouch • 22 Carson • 23 Walcott • Coach: Eriksson