Theo Walcott says one Arsene Wenger decision really ‘frustrated’ him – it is why he left Arsenal

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Theo Walcott spent over a decade as an Arsenal player.

The Englishman joined the Gunners from Southampton when he was just 16 years old. He was viewed as one of the biggest prospects in the country at the time.

Arsenal paid an initial £5 million for Walcott, with potential add-ons agreed at the time to take the whole figure to £12 million (Sky Sports).

Now, almost two decades later, the retired attacker has revealed why he decided to leave Arsenal.

Theo Walcott shares the Arsene Wenger decision that ‘frustrated’ him at Arsenal

Walcott didn’t become the absolute superstar that we thought he would, but he still had a remarkable career at Arsenal.

The winger played 397 games for the Gunners in all competitions, scored 108 goals and provided 73 assists. That’s not a bad record at all.

After 12 years at the Emirates in January 2018, Walcott decided that he wanted to leave Arsenal and looked for a different opportunity.

Everton came calling and Arsenal decided to sell him for more than £20 million (BBC), which was great business by the Gunners at the time.

Walcott has now revealed that Arsene Wenger’s decision to change his system meant that he was no longer a regular – that’s why he decided to leave the club.

He said on Sky Sports Monday Night Football (25 November 2024): “I, at times, found it difficult to get back into the team and the system Arsene wanted to play at the time, and as a player you get more and more frustrated.

“I had a good chunk of my contract left at the club but felt I just wanted change and at times, there’s no rights and wrongs.

“I was at the club a long time and I just wanted change, a different experience, I wanted to live differently and just do something different and that’s how I looked at it… it’s quite a sad moment when I look at it [leaving the club].”

What change did Arsene Wenger make to Arsenal’s system?

Wenger, for the most part, was really consistent with his formation during his time at Arsenal.

His early years were mostly 4-4-2 and that brought him a lot of success. Then, the legendary Frenchman transitioned to a 4-2-3-1, making use of the number 10 role.

That remained his preferred formation for most of the second half of his career at Arsenal, but there was a time in the back end of the 2016/17 season and the first half of the 2017/18 campaign that he changed things up.

That was the period when Arsenal mostly played a 3-4-2-1, and there was no place for Walcott from the start in most games in the Premier League.

Walcott didn’t start a single game in the first half of the 2017/18 season, and that is the reason why he decided to bring an end to his time at Arsenal in January 2018.