Theo Walcott

He is a stricker for Arsenal

Walcott ultimately signed for Arsenal on 20 January 2006 for an initial fee of £5m, rising to a possible £12m[4] based on appearances for club and country, making him the most expensive 16 year old in the history of British football.[5] In April 2008, financial pressures forced Southampton to accept an early settlement which means that Walcott will actually have cost Arsenal around £9.1 million. The new deal is understood to involve an immediate payment to Southampton of £1.6 million followed by a further £500,000 later this year added to the £7 million that Arsenal already paid to date.[6] On 7 February 2006, Walcott made his debut for the Arsenal reserves against Portsmouth reserves at Havant; he scored, but Arsenal lost 3–2. Walcott was then named in an 18-man squad to face Real Madrid in a UEFA Champions League second round first-leg tie at the Bernabéu on 21 February 2006. On 16 March 2006 – his 17th birthday – Walcott signed a professional contract worth a reported £1 million a year, which lasts until summer 2008 and includes provisions to extend it.[7] On 19 August 2006, Walcott made his Premier League début as an Arsenal player on the first day of the 2006–07 season. He came on as a substitute after 73 minutes against Aston Villa and supplied the cross from which Gilberto Silva volleyed in the equaliser. Walcott's Champions League début came in the second leg of Arsenal's third qualifying round match against Dinamo Zagreb, where he became the youngest ever Arsenal player to appear in European competition, a record previously held by Cesc Fàbregas.[citation needed] Within minutes of coming on he received his first yellow card in Arsenal colours for taking a shot several seconds after the referee had already blown for offside. During stoppage time, however, his cross beat the Dinamo defence and Mathieu Flamini scored, giving Walcott a record of two assists in two substitute appearances. Walcott made his first start for Arsenal on 14 October 2006 at home against Watford. Walcott's exploits with Arsenal and with the England team earned him the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2006.[8] Walcott taking a corner. Walcott taking a corner. Walcott scored his first goal for Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 25 February 2007, becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in a League Cup final.[citation needed] His eleventh minute strike was overshadowed by events later on in the match as Didier Drogba scored twice to give Chelsea a 2–1 victory and three players were dismissed following a mass brawl.[9] On 23 October 2007, Walcott scored his first goals at the Emirates Stadium in a Champions League match against Slavia Prague, which Arsenal won 7–0, as well as setting up a goal for Cesc Fàbregas. His second goal came from a fast run up the left wing which drew comparisons from television pundits with former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry.[10] On 9 January 2008, he scored another goal in a Carling Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, it was a 79th minute equaliser, but Tottenham Hotspur went on to win 6–2 on aggregate. Walcott scored his first Premiership goal in a match against Birmingham City at St.Andrews on 23 February 2008 when he scored both Arsenal goals in a 2–2 draw.[11] On 8 April 2008, during the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, Walcott made an incredible impact by coming on as a substitute. 10 minutes after coming on, he controlled the ball from a missed half volley by the Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. He then embarked on a 70-metre run, went past four Liverpool players in the process and cut the ball back for Emmanuel Adebayor to score the equalizer. Again this drew comparisons to former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry. Despite Walcott's efforts, Arsenal went on to lose the game with a scoreline of 4–2. Walcott finished the 2007–08 season with seven goals from all competitions. Walcott came on as a second half substitute on 25 May 2006 for the England B team against Belarus. On 30 May 2006, he made history by becoming the youngest ever England player in a full international by appearing in England's friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford, aged 17 years and 75 days. England won the match 3–1. Walcott was a shock inclusion in Sven-Göran Eriksson's preliminary England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup when it was announced on 8 May 2006. Even with first-choice strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both recovering from injury, Walcott was selected over established Premiership strikers such as Darren Bent (the top English goalscorer in the Premiership in the 2005–06 season), Andy Johnson (the top English goalscorer in the Premiership in the 2004–05 season), Dean Ashton (like Bent, already an established player at England U21 level) and England squad regular Jermain Defoe.[12] Despite being one of only two fully fit strikers in the England squad, he did not play during the tournament. Eriksson has since defended his decision,[13] claiming that the experience has served him well for future tournaments. However, Eriksson's decision to include Walcott in the preliminary squad was made despite never having seen him play a professional match, and the decision was generally regarded as the most unexpected in what was seen as a surprisingly uncharacteristic set of selections. It received mixed reactions, some regarding it as an unnecessary risk when England had more established strikers, while others praised Eriksson for his willingness to "try something new". Walcott did not however play a single minute throughout England's time at the tournament. On 15 August 2006 Walcott became the youngest player ever to score for the England under 21s when he scored the opener after three minutes in England's 2–2 draw with Moldova at Ipswich Town's ground Portman Road. The game against Moldova was his first cap for the England under 21s. His impressive form for the under 21 team continued in a 3–2 win against the highly rated Swiss. Walcott scored two goals against Germany to seal qualification for England to the Under-21 European Championships, in the playoff second leg on 10 October 2006. For his first goal, he received the ball from a long Leighton Baines pass before taking just two touches and curling the ball past the onrushing Michael Rensing and into the bottom corner. He later received another pass from Leighton Baines close to the left touch-line just inside his own half, he jinked the ball just beyond a defender who was attempting to close him down before using his pace to get past two defenders before cutting inside and curling the ball beyond Michael Rensing and into the net, in a move reminiscent of Thierry Henry.[14] He scored his fifth U21 goal against the Republic of Ireland on 5 February 2008. On 26 March 2008, Walcott was among the unused substitutes in Fabio Capello's 23 man squad for the friendly match against France.[15]

Arsenal
March 16, 1989
Source: Wikipedia