Everton forward Theo Walcott has expressed gratitude towards departing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The England international scored the only goal of Everton’s 1-0 triumph over Newcastle United and shortly after the match, the attacker took a moment to thank Wenger, who aided his initial development.
He told Sky Sports News: “Just a word on Arsene after announcing he is leaving Arsenal, he is a fantastic man, fantastic manager. Ican't thank him enough for what he did for me at such a young age to have that faith in me, and now I'm here with Sam and again he's shown so much faith in me. I just want to repay that really to him personally and for this team. I want to work hard. I feel like the team and myself worked really hard tonight and like I say it was a really well-fought battle tonight.”
Walcott was widely regarded as a long-term replacement for Thierry Henry in the Arsenal ranks. However, the forward struggled to live up to his promise owing to his inconsistency but he still managed to score a century of goals for the club after making nearly 400 appearances across all competitions.
Since his January move to Everton, Walcott has found a new lease of life with the promise of regular playing time and he has so far been a good success with three goals and three assists in 13 top-flight appearances. His form may not take him to the World Cup with England but rest assured he could make a push post the World Cup where they are likely to be changes based on the performance at the global tournament.
Walcott’s winner against Newcastle United has propelled Everton into eighth spot in the league standings but they look set to miss out on a European spot with Burnley a further eight points ahead of them with just three games left to play.
