Former Arsenal superstar Theo Walcott is set to announce his retirement from professional football at the age of 34, according to a tweet from TalkSPORT.
Following his release from Southampton at the end of the 2022/23 season, he has reportedly decided to call it quits – bringing his glittering career to an end.
TalkSPORT’s tweet reads: “Theo Walcott is set to retire. Walcott, 34, who left [Southampton] at the end of last season, scored more than 100 goals for Arsenal and won 47 England caps.”
Is Walcott’s retirement premature?
After being released by Southampton upon the expiration of his contract with the Saints, it seems that Walcott’s time in the top flight of English football is over.
He had been linked with several clubs outside of the Premier League – Reading being one of them – but he does not appear to have an interest in playing outside of the top tier.
In truth, Walcott has been on the decline for over half a decade now. Once famed for his electric pace, it has now all but disappeared.
Technically, Walcott was never lacking, but without his pace, he did not have the footballing IQ or dribbling ability to be a consistently strong performer in the Premier League. As such, his decision to end his career at this point seems like an intelligent one.
Theo Walcott’s time at Arsenal
Walcott joined Arsenal in 2006 from Southampton at the age of 17 for an initial fee of £5 million. He was instantly recognised for his pace, which terrified defences upon his arrival.
He went on to spend 12 years with the Gunners – during this time, he made 270 Premier League appearances, scoring 65 goals along the way.
Perhaps his greatest moment in an Arsenal shirt came during their 7-3 demolition of Newcastle United in 2012. In that game, he scored a hattrick, with one of his goal being voted as December 2012’s Premier League goal of the month.
In 2018, his long-standing Arsenal tenure came to an end when he was snapped up by Sam Allardyce’s Everton for a fee of over £20 million.
He also collected an considerable number of England caps over the course of his career – in total, he made 47 international appearances for the Three Lions, scoring eight goals.
