Theo Walcott has revealed which Premier League legend he followed his game after, as he claimed he always preferred to play as a striker.
Walcott hung up his boots in August 2023 after a successful career in which he played for teams such as Arsenal, Everton and Southampton.
He made a name for himself with the Gunners after making 397 appearances and scoring 108 goals during his time in north London.
Although his numbers are impressive, he could have finished his football career with more goals on his record if he had not predominantly played as a winger.
Now Walcott has revealed that he actually wanted to play at the top and revealed which top-flight legend modeled his game.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Walcott said: “I saw Michael Owen, he was my idol in football.” When I saw him in 1998 against Argentina, I shaped my game around him.
Theo Walcott reflected on his game during a recent appearance on Sky Sports
The former England international spent 12 years playing for Arsenal before leaving
He revealed that Michael Owen (left) was the player he tried to model his game after.
“They were very similar styles, I wanted to play forward, I wasn’t big in height but I had raw pace and I knew my strengths and I wanted the players to play to my strengths.”
‘Sometimes I could veer to the right but then come back to the middle, and there were periods when people would ask me “what position are you in?” I always wanted to play as a center forward.
“But playing with a three, playing alone with someone my size, is not ideal in the place where the game was developing and the era of football was changing. It didn’t quite work out in that sense, but there were patches where I felt I could work.
“Yes (I think he could have scored more goals if he had played through the middle). What defenders fear, and Jamie will support me here, is pure pace.
“When you have players who are willing to run against the centre-backs, you are always on the move and I was that player, you could never disconnect from me.
“At times I felt like I wanted more (time) up front, but I had (Robin) Van Persie ahead of me and of course we know what a good player he was.
And I played great seasons with him. But I look back and think, yeah, they should have given me more games up front.”
Walcott spent 12 years in Arsenal’s first team before leaving to join Everton, where he scored 11 goals in three seasons with the club.
He would later join Southampton before deciding to hang up his boots.
