Theo Walcott is celebrating his new four-year deal at Arsenal by not only waxing lyrical about how it feels to have signed a new deal, but also reminiscing about his first days at the club, including talking about the influence of ex-England and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell on his early days at the Emirates, in interviews with Arsenal Player.
Walcott made the move to Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006, and his price of around £12 million (including bonuses) has proved to be worth the money. He’s played over 300 games for the Gunners at this point, and has now been rewarded with a new four-year contract, which allows him to continue his run as Arsenal’s longest-serving player.
Speaking following signing his new contract, Walcott said: “I’ve always enjoyed playing for this club, I love this club. I’ve been here nearly 10 years now and it’s my second home.
“The manager has been fantastic to me. The players, the coaching staff, everyone at the club itself, the people that you don’t see on the inside and, most importantly, the fans have all been amazing.
“The Emirates is a great stadium to play your football in and this team is very special. I think we can go places this year and move on from the success of the FA Cup. I want to be a part of that.”
The 26-year-old also lavished praise on his Spanish teammate Santi Cazorla, who signed a new contract at the same time as the former Southampton man.
“My little buddy Santi! Looking at his stats, assist-wise he has been among the best in the Premier League for the last four years. Having him in the team [is great].
“He’s blessed, he’s a fantastic player and can play left or right footed. To continue playing football with him is a nice partnership.”
The England international also talked about the possible future of Arsenal, and how he feels that if the team can stick together then great things can come from it.
“[Solidarity] is the sign of a successful team. When players stay and stick together you see the success come out. You look at the old Manchester United and Arsenal sides and they were teams who stayed together. They just built on success after every year.
“That’s what I want to be part of and that’s what I think I can be part of because this club deserves to be there. It’s a massive club and we should be winning things every year. I believe that we will. That’s the sense in the dressing room and everyone is completely ready, confident and ready for the season.”
When Walcott joined Arsenal from the Saints nine-and-a-half years ago, the Gunners were just entering their trophy drought, and they would go on to lose the Champions League Final against Barcelona just a few months later. They’re back on the trophy trail now, having won the FA Cup in the last two years and the Community Shield following on from that in both years as well.
However, Walcott also told Arsenal Player about his early days at the club, and how the presence of now-legends and former stars helped him to settle into life at one of England’s biggest clubs.
“Sol Campbell kicked me up in the air straight away! That was a welcome to Arsenal.
“I also met Thierry and Robert Pires on the first day and I looked so nervous seeing my heroes straight away. Ashley Cole, Bergkamp, Ljungberg, Jens, Gilberto, everyone was great.
“Ashley and Sol were probably the main ones though. We went to the World Cup and I knew them from Arsenal so they looked after me. I got to train against one of the best left backs at the time, Ashley, so that definitely improved my game.
The 26-year-old England international also talked about his immense motivation, saying: “What motivates me is the manager grabbing me when I was 16, unknown, and just giving me that opportunity, that chance to express myself, to show what I can do.
“He had that belief in me.
“I’ve got more of an ambition and a goal now to do it for the family, especially the little one. That’s just something that motivates me more now, something that drives you more.
“You look at all the top people in sport and they’re the people that, no matter what age they are, they always want to improve when they go into work each and every day. They’re that person who’s first at the ground and last to leave.
“It doesn’t matter what the age gap is, I’m still improving. When people hit their 30s they are still improving. You want to test yourself.”
Theo Walcott’s new deal keeps him at the Emirates until at least 2019, and he’ll be extremely happy to be given the opportunity to continue growing and winning at a club he knows so well.
