Theo Walcott joined Everton from Arsenal in a hurry as he packed up all his training ground gear in a bin bag
Winger didn't have time to say bye to team-mates as he made hasty move up to Merseyside once deal was confirmed
THEO WALCOTT ended 12 years at Arsenal by leaving with his belongings in bin bags.
Everton’s new £20million signing will make his debut against West Brom today after his Gunners career landed on the scrap heap.
Yet the England star, 28, who has not made a Premier League start this season, diplomatically insisted he holds no grudges against Arsene Wenger.
Walcott revealed he left the club he joined as a 16-year-old from Southampton in a hurry and in the dead of night.
But pal Wayne Rooney’s advice lit the way to a new Goodison path.
Walcott did not even have time to say farewell to any of his Arsenal team-mates, going back to the club’s training ground to grab his gear once his Merseyside move was confirmed.
But the winger, who scored 108 goals in 397 appearances after arriving in North London in a £12m deal in 2006, maintains he is only looking ahead.
Walcott said: “When I found I was coming here I had to go there at night and pick up my stuff in bin bags.
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“To leave was quite emotional for me. I’ve had so many messages to try to catch up with people. It’s been overwhelming.”
Walcott said of his choice to move on: “When you’re used to something for so long, it’s a big decision to change things but I felt it was the right decision to do that.
“If you’re not playing you’re going to be upset. For whatever reason it didn’t happen this year. That’s why I’ve moved on.
“But I’ve known Arsene Wenger since I was 16 and to bring in a young player like that and have belief in him — I cannot thank him enough.”
Walcott, capped 47 times, will be hoping the switch will help force his way back into Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate’s plans with the World Cup finals coming up this summer.
He added: “I played a lot of football with Wayne Rooney and I just wanted to get a structure of how the club worked and what the players are like.
“I got a sense from Wayne he was hungry, eager to push on. He felt like this was the right place. It was a long process but we’re here in the end now.”
Boss Sam Allardyce, who today takes charge of his 1,000th game as a manager, said: “Theo’s got goals and for us that’s a very important ingredient.
“The number of goals he has scored is exceptionally good for a player from a wide position.
“We are short in creating and scoring goals at the moment, and it hopefully adds great firepower to our squad. He’s seen it all in this league.”