Former Arsenal star hung up on England Manager Gareth Southgate in rage after World Cup rejection
Theo Walcott, a legend of Arsenal, confessed he abruptly hung up the phone on Gareth Southgate when he was omitted from England’s 2018 World Cup squad.
The winger announced his retirement from professional football today and discussed his career in a candid interview with Manchester United legend Gary Neville on The Overlap.
Walcott last played for England in an international friendly against Spain in 2016, but believed he should have been included in the World Cup squad for France.
The forward spent the first half of the 2017/18 season on the sidelines for Arsenal, but returned in January. Walcott recorded three goals and three assists for the Gunners in the final few months of the season.
It was insufficient to persuade Southgate that the former wonderkid deserved a spot in the team, and Walcott reflected on receiving the news with anger when the England manager called.
Walcott told Neville, “I recall my conversation with Gareth Southgate, in which he informed me that I would not be selected for the 2018 World Cup squad.”He explained why I wasn’t playing enough, and I responded with relevant statistics.
I informed him that, at the time, I was the third-highest English goalscorer behind Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli and that I played more minutes than he believed, and then I hung up.
“I do regret that because when I think back on what Gareth has done for the team, it’s incredible.”
Walcott made his England début in 2006 at the tender age of 16 and remains the youngest player ever to earn a first-team cap for the national team.
The star, who was released by Southampton after the club’s relegation from the Premier League last season, reflected on his ascent to fame and the detrimental effect that being propelled into the spotlight had on him and his family.
Walcott stated, “I wouldn’t inflict that on anyone; everything was magnified. Looking back, I was 16/17 when the ‘WAGs’ label was created, and I was right in the middle of it, unsure of what to do because I was so young and so out of place.
“During that era, people followed Mel and even caused car accidents to get pictures of me and her together; we were 16/17 at the time.”
“I had no choice but to cope with it and move on, and I utilized football to do so. It’s fascinating to reflect on the past because, for example, Mel did not have that distraction.
Former Arsenal star hung up on England Manager Gareth Southgate in rage after World Cup rejection