April 29, 2000, and an 11-year-old Chelsea ballboy is starstruck. He has a fondness for Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool, who have Michael Owen up front, and they are the visitors to Stamford Bridge. He sees club captain Jamie Redknapp and plucks up the courage to ask for a picture.
The young man posing for the camera with his arms behind his back is Theo Walcott. Soon he will join Southampton’s academy and five years later Redknapp’s father Harry will be handing him his first-team debut.
He will become the youngest player to represent England, and Sven-Goran Eriksson will take him to the 2006 World Cup at the age of 17.
Here, 20 years after first crossing paths, Walcott and Redknapp catch up on Zoom to discuss the 31-year-old’s journey back to Southampton via Arsenal and Everton. Sportsmail’s Kieran Gill listened in.
Theo Walcott sits down to chat with Sportsmail’s Jamie Redknapp, 20 years after the duo first crossed paths at Southampton when the striker was just a youth player (pictured)
Returning to Southampton this season on loan Walcott, 31, is a player revitalized once more
JAMIE REDKNAPP: At Liverpool, we heard big things about this Owen kid in the academy, then he burst on to the scene. It was the same when I was at Southampton in 2004-05. I was hearing your name and what you were doing in training sessions. I remember my Dad saying, ‘This kid can run through puddles and not make a splash. He’s lightning.’
THEO WALCOTT: Every time I think of your Dad I smile. Before joining Southampton’s academy, Chelsea showed an interest in signing me. But they scared the s*** out of me, to be honest! They showed me the first team, the dressing room. I’m seeing Gianfranco Zola, all these guys. That was a lot to take.
Southampton just showed me the academy side. They didn’t show me anything to do with the first team. You don’t need to be overwhelmed or distracted. That’s why I went to Southampton.
It felt right, like a family club. Chelsea was too much to handle at that age.
REDKNAPP: Your Southampton debut was in August 2005, aged 16. My Dad clearly felt you were ready.
Lots of hype swirled around young Walcott when he made his name in the Saints’ academy
Every top flight club in Europe made their interest in the pacey Walcott known to Southampton
WALCOTT: Looking back at that little kid, I was learning day to day. I couldn’t develop in the background. I had to develop with all eyes on me. To some extent it was exciting – I was playing with a free spirit and expressing myself. But that much attention at that age, it was scary.
It didn’t hit me really until I went with England. I had not played in the Premier League and I’m with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Maybe some are saying behind my back I shouldn’t be there – and I definitely should not have been there! It was scary, mate. Honestly, it was scary.
REDKNAPP: It’s interesting to hear you say you shouldn’t have been there. Let me put you on the spot. Say we could go back to 2006, Sven sits you down and tells you it’s your decision. ‘Do I take you to this World Cup or don’t I?’ What would you say?
WALCOTT: You know what? I wouldn’t change it. Maybe I’m contradicting myself but I wouldn’t change it. I’d still go. It’s a World Cup. Kids dream of World Cups. I wouldn’t have blamed anyone for thinking I shouldn’t have been there. Mel – my girlfriend then and wife now – with all that paparazzi, the WAG talk, that side of it was overwhelming for us. We were just little kids lost in it all.
The great thing about that World Cup was Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. They were my Arsenal team-mates and they looked after me. It would have been so much harder if those two had not been there. I didn’t play in that tournament in the end. But when I did get to play, I was fearless, I didn’t look out of place. I’d express myself. That’s where I felt I could come out of my shell.
Walcott says he shouldn’t have been in the 2006 England squad, but he would not change it
REDKNAPP: How was Arsene Wenger for you? You were 16 and being talked about as the next Thierry Henry. He signed you in January 2006 and you waited until August for your first appearance.
WALCOTT: Going back to your Dad, I remember the first time he told me I was starting for Southampton. He told me, ‘Go phone your Dad, let him know you’re starting.’ I loved that. When I met Wenger for the first time, he was so warm towards my family. That was important to me.
Harry and Arsene were similar in terms of my family being important to them as well. Arsene made me feel welcome straight away. I was at the club and didn’t play for months. But I got the experience of going to these Champions League nights, like when Thierry scored that amazing goal at the Bernabeu. I was training with these guys every day.
REDKNAPP: Was it always going to be Arsenal when you left Southampton? Every club in the country wanted you in 2006.
At Arsenal Walcott learned from Premier League icon Thierry Henry on a daily basis
WALCOTT: There were a few other clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea, but I felt this was the right club. I loved every minute of my Arsenal career. I scored over 100 goals and won two or three FA Cups – I say ‘two or three’ because I was injured for the 2014 final, so I don’t know if I can count it!
REDKNAPP: You have to count it!
WALCOTT: Well, I did play in that game (against Tottenham in the third round) when I did the famous 2-0 shout while on the stretcher! But I loved Arsenal. Even now, to see Arsenal in a difficult moment, it’s tough to take. It really is.
REDKNAPP: How much do you regret missing out on a Premier League title with Arsenal?
WALCOTT: The Leicester season… that one really felt like it could have been us. But it’s the way it is. This season, it’s anyone’s at the moment. It’s a mad season, genuinely, and I love it like that.
On Wednesday night, Walcott returned to the Emirates, scoring the opener in a 1-1 draw against his old club. He dinked the ball over Bernd Leno expertly and wheeled away in jubilation. Here he explains why he was always going to celebrate.
Walcott didn’t hold back at the Emirates and celebrated the stunning chip against Arsenal
WALCOTT: I’m a father to two kids. When I spoke to Mel and she told me about how the kids celebrated when I scored… I mean, you’re teaching kids what? If you score a goal don’t celebrate? The amount of joy and the smiles on their faces, that’s what it’s about for me. My kids were so happy which makes me happy.
People have asked would I have celebrated if there were fans there. I would always celebrate a goal. I remember scoring a hat-trick for Arsenal against Southampton and I celebrated. It’s one of the best feelings you can have in football. It brings people together.
You can see the emotions in the players and you’re working for this team now. That’s what it’s about. You want to win every game. It’s like saying, ‘The Arsenal players are kicking me!’ They’re going to kick me. They’re going to try to stop me.
REDKNAPP: It was a classic finish, too.
WALCOTT: I did actually picture myself scoring the night before. I’ve got so much love for Arsenal. They did so much for me and the fans were fantastic. But I was there to do a job and that was to get a result.
It was a shame we couldn’t hang on to the three points because we dominated the game. I sensed a bit of fear, particularly when we kicked off and Arsenal dropped off. It just shows how far Southampton have come. We have a lot of confidence. We have a lot of respect for Arsenal but we know how strong we are and we showed it. We’re third in the table and deserve to be there.
One surprising statistic is that Arsenal’s last Champions League goal was scored by Walcott against Bayern Munich in March 2017. Overall, he scored 108 times in 397 appearances across 12 years.
His time came to an end in January 2018 when he signed for Everton. But an opportunity to return to Southampton on loan arose on deadline day in October. He jumped at the chance to come home after a passionate phone call from manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Walcott signed for Everton under Sam Allardyce but endured a frequent change of managers
REDKNAPP: How did you find that transition from Arsenal to Everton?
WALCOTT: I enjoyed it up there, the people, the area. The club is massive. At Arsenal, I’d only had Arsene. At Everton, there was a transition of different managers from Sam Allardyce to Marco Silva to Carlo Ancelotti and I wasn’t used to that. But I loved every moment. They’ve got an unbelievable manager and the plans for the stadium look amazing – it’s a shame I might be retired by the time that’s open because I’d love to play there.
REDKNAPP: You’ve got a few years left in you, surely! You have to be fit to feature in Hasenhuttl’s side, with the way he has you pressing. At Arsenal you supposedly broke a 40-metre sprint record that Henry had held for years. Henry was clocked at 4.82sec. You were clocked at 4.42. Are you still topping those charts at the age of 31 at Southampton?
WALCOTT: We actually haven’t done sprint tests! Definitely Michael Obafemi and Nathan Tella would be up there. Everyone is quick these days. Everyone is an athlete. It’s about being quick up here, in your mind! The biggest compliment I can give myself is when we played Wolves, Adama Traore wanted to face me up. But then he didn’t! He went back!
REDKNAPP: He clearly didn’t fancy his chances in a foot race!
WALCOTT: I’ve got plenty of football left in these legs. When I first spoke to Ralph, there was an absolute hunger in the way he was talking. I wanted to be part of that. It felt like Southampton were right for me.
There might have been a worry I couldn’t cope with the intensity but I feel as fit as I have ever been. It’s nice to be getting the results. We need to make sure this doesn’t go to our heads. The fact that the Southampton fans have been there, that’s a very emotional thing for me. To play in front of them is a dream. I had chills.
Walcott says he is fitter than ever before, though is being worked hard by Ralph Hasenhuttl
The Austrian (left) has made things click and Walcott feels the team can go very far this season
REDKNAPP: I have to say, there isn’t a Premier League team I’ve enjoyed watching more than Southampton this season. Does Ralph train you hard?
WALCOTT: Let’s just say I’ve been on the massage table a bit more than normal.
REDKNAPP: But as a player, you don’t mind that extra work when it’s paying off on match days.
WALCOTT: We’re part of something now. It’s a good place to be, especially when the league is so open. I’m not saying Southampton are going to win it. Who knows? But we’re in a position where not many teams would want to play Southampton right now. We’re so hungry for success. Everyone works for each other and we have a manager whose philosophy we believe in.
REDKNAPP: I remember covering a Southampton game against Watford in 2019 and we were told that whoever lost, the manager would get the sack. Southampton scored twice late on and won 2-1. The next day, Watford sacked Quique Sanchez Flores. Ralph kept his job. That’s how precarious it was for him. Southampton are flying now. To secure a European spot would be a dream. Do you look at that table and think, if ever there was a year to win it, this is it?
WALCOTT: It’s such a mad league this year, who knows? We’re so confident going into every game so who knows how far we can go. But if we keep this confidence, keep players fit, keep expressing ourselves, remember the Southampton way – honestly, with the manager we’ve got, we could go far.