Theo Walcott

Theodore "Theo" Walcott (born March 16, 1989 in Newbury, Berkshire) is an English footballer of Barbadian descent who plays for Arsenal, having been signed from Southampton on January 20, 2006. He is the great nephew of legendary West Indian batsman Clyde Walcott. Theo Walcott wears the number 32 shirt for the Gunners.

Walcott had played for A.F.C. Newbury, the local club of the town he was raised, in his youth, his most memorable game there being in 2000, when Newbury's Under-11 side beat Down Grange Albion 4-2 in the Peter Houseman League Cup Final. Walcott also scored over 100 goals in his one and only season for AFC Newbury, before leaving for Southampton.

In the 2004-05 season, he starred in the Southampton youth side which reached the FA Youth Cup final against Ipswich. In addition, he became the youngest ever person to play in the Southampton reserve team, aged just 15 years and 175 days, when he came off the bench against Watford in September 2004. Walcott also broke into the England U-17 team, where he hit five goals in nine games.

Before the start of the 2005-06 season, Walcott linked up with the first team's tour of Scotland - just two weeks after signing a full-time contract with Saints. The striker then went on to become the youngest-ever player to play for the Southampton first team when he made his first team debut aged just 16 years and 143 days, after coming on as a substitute in Southampton's 0-0 draw at home to Wolves in the Football League Championship.

Walcott made his full first team debut away to Leeds United on 18 October 2005, scoring his first senior goal in the same game. He continued his scoring spree four days later away at Millwall before scoring again on 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 Young Sports Personality of the Year award on 11 December 2005.

His performances soon attracted attention from the British media, who saw him as one of the most promising young English footballers of his time. At the time of Walcott's senior debut Southampton were playing in the Football League Championship, having been relegated from the Premiership the previous season. 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, as well as rumours circulating in Europe about interest from Real Madrid, A.C. Milan and Juventus. After much tabloid speculation, Walcott signed for Arsenal on January 20, 2006 for an initial fee of £5m, rising to a possible £12m ^[1] based on appearances for club and country.

Walcott is yet to make his first team debut for Arsenal, though he was an unused substitute on February 4, 2006 against Birmingham City. Two days later, Walcott was named in the England Under-19 squad for the very first time, for a match against Slovakia. On February 7, 2006 Walcott made his debut for Arsenal Reserves in a game against Portsmouth Reserves at Havant; he scored, but the Gunners lost 3-2. Walcott was then named in an 18-man squad to face Real Madrid in a Champions League second round first-leg tie in Spain on Tuesday 21st February 2006.

On the 28th of February Walcott was included in the England Under 19 squad alongside Arsenal team mate Kerrea Gilbert to face Slovakia in a friendly. England won 3-0 on the night with Walcott scoring in his International debut with an 80th minute penalty kick.

On Walcott's 17th birthday, he finally signed a professional contract worth a reported £1 million a year, which lasts until summer 2008 and includes provisions to extend it.

As of 06 May, 2006, Walcott has yet to make a professional appearance for the Gunners. Despite this, extraordinary media speculation suggests that he might be named in Sven Goran Erikkson's preliminary England squad for the 2006 World Cup, with first-choice strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both recovering from injury. Should he make his international debut before the World Cup final, Walcott would become England's youngest-ever player (Rooney currently holds the record - 17 years and 111 days old on his debut against Austria in Feburary 2003).

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