Theo Walcott signs for Everton

12 years after joining Arsenal at the age of 16, Theo Walcott has made a £20m move to Everton signing a three-and-a-half year deal with the Gunners. He will inherit the No 11 shirt vacated by Kevin Mirallas who has been loaned to Olympiakos.

"It felt like it was time for me to move on [from Arsenal]. It was sad but it's exciting at the same time and I want to reignite my career and push Everton to win things as they have done before", Walcott said.

Having signed from Southampton in 2006, the 28-year-old leaves Arsenal as their current longest-serving player. He had more appearences then Thierry Henry and was catching up on Dennis Bergkamp. In this campaign he had fallen out-of-favour at The Emirates, making only six Premier League appearances. Last season, Theo Walcott became only the 18th player in Arsenal's history to reach three figures for goals scored. In 397 matchers for the Gunners he put the ball in the back of the net in 108 occasions - first goal scored in the 2007 League Cup final against Chelsea.

Walcott's injuries have undoubtedly held him back in his Arsenal career but so did his inconsistency which exhausted the patience of many supporters and frequently cost him a regular place in Wenger's team. Since April of last season he had been dropped from Wenger's picks and played just 64 minutes of Premier League action in his final six months at the club. Although he scored some goals at this year's Europa League, his final start in an Arsenal shirt was the FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest.

In Everton Walcott will try to fight his way back like he did on previous occasions and he wants titles.

"The club has won trophies but I want them to win trophies now. The manager is very hungry and it's just what I need. I've had a couple of chats with him and straightaway I felt that hunger and that desire that he wanted from me."

 

Happy to confirm I have today joined @everton 🔵⚪ #EFC

Uma publicação partilhada por Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) a 17 de Jan, 2018 às 9:08 PST