Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott has named his best XI from players he has played alongside in his career, but has bizarrely snubbed his “hero” Thierry Henry.
Walcott called time on his playing career in 2023, following 18 years of featuring at the very highest level for several clubs.
That includes 12 years with Arsenal, where he went on from being a promising wonderkid to an impressive star on his day at the Emirates Stadium.
With that now beyond him, with a career in punditry kickstarted, Walcott has recalled his years at Arsenal, which included some memorable moments.
One of those was featuring alongside Thierry Henry, though the Frenchman doesn’t have a place in his “perfect XI”.
Theo Walcott snubs Thierry Henry for Robin van Persie in perfect XI
While Walcott has outlined his admiration of Henry, who was at the top of his game when the youngster was coming through at Southampton, he hasn’t made a place in his perfect XI team.
Instead, rather controversially, he has picked Robin van Persie instead, in a move that may not be thrilling for Arsenal fans.
Speaking to Four Four Two about his team selection, Walcott said: “Henry was my hero but I played far more with Robin [Van Persie], who made finishing seem really easy.
“When you talk about players who have a wand of a left foot, he genuinely had that. He scored some iconic goals and made my life so much easier on the right.”
It’s a decision that won’t have thrilled many, with the team also including the likes of Ashley Cole and Bacary Sagna in his team, who went on to leave the team in controversial fashion.
It’s a bold move, not least given that Henry was already Walcott’s hero before picking the team itself, while supporters don’t forget the decisions of former players who left in years gone past.
Why do Arsenal fans hate Robin van Persie?
Robin van Persie had plenty of memorable moments for Arsenal, spending eight years at the Emirates Stadium and transforming from a young left-winger to a world-class centre-forward.
He was well-loved, but the reality soon changed as he looked to join Manchester United in a shock transfer.
Many supporters were left unhappy with such a sign of betrayal, joining a rival as big as United, but the reality for him was different.
Speaking in 2019 on BT Sports, Van Persie said: “One of the main facts was that Arsenal got tired of me, that was the starting point – they didn’t offer me a new deal.
“Then you have a look around, I was ambitious, I still wanted to win the league. That is life.
“I ended up having three options. One option abroad disappeared quickly. Then it was City or Manchester United.
“What people don’t know, during the transfer, loads of things are happening behind the scenes.
“You have to take a lot on and make a choice based on what your targets are but also deal with the facts.
“We had loads of chats with Wenger, with [Ivan] Gazidis. They gave me no decision to make.”
All these years on, there’s still plenty of hard feelings between Arsenal fans and Van Persie.
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