Theo Walcott Reveals the Key Reasons He Swapped the Emirates for Goodison & the Position He'll Play

Theo Walcott says Everton's ambition and current direction are among the two biggest reasons he completed his transfer from Arsenal.

The winger was officially announced by the club yesterday in a £20m deal, and leaves the Gunners after making 397 appearances and scoring 108 goals.

The Englishman spent 12 years at the Emirates but arguably failed to live up to the huge hype that surrounded him at the time of his move from Southampton. This season, he only made six appearances in the Premier League for the north Londoners.

As quoted by the club's official website, Walcott said of his move to the Merseysiders: "I’m very ambitious and I’ve come here because I want the club to push to the next level. And with the players that have come in, I feel like the next level can be reached.

"I’m very excited to be starting a new chapter and I felt this was the right place for me to be. The manager is very ambitious and I feel like the club is going in the right direction.

"I would also like to thank all my teammates I have had the pleasure of playing alongside, but most importantly the fans for their incredible support. I feel sad to leave but also excited for a new challenge. I wish everyone at the club every success for the future."

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And Walcott, who also became tempted by the move thanks to the influence of Wayne Rooney, appears to already know what position he'll take up at his new club after speaking with Sam Allardyce.

Via Sky Sports, he added: "I had numerous chats with Wayne and that was one massive factor which really tempted me to come to Everton. He told me it was a great place to play football and a club that is on the up. Those are the reasons I came here.

"I believe I can add value in any of the front-line positions. The manager will pick his team depending on who we play against. He [Allardyce] sees me more on the right, but I can play in any of those positions. A lot of those 19 goals I scored I was playing on the right."