Theo Walcott will return to The Emirates on Friday night - with Arsenal fans seemingly unsure of the Southampton forward's feelings towards his former club.
Walcott made 397 appearances in a 12-year stint with The Gunners, scoring 108 times. And despite missing their 2015 FA Cup final win over Hull with injury, he made amends on the same stage two years later by scoring the opening goal at Wembley in a 4-0 rout against Aston Villa.
But after being increasingly on the fringes of the first-team squad, he left for Everton in a £20 million transfer in January 2018. Two years later he returned to his boyhood team Southampton on loan, with the move later made permanent.
And since signing with The Saints, his previously celebrated relationship with the Arsenal faithful has seemingly soured. In December 2020 he riled fans by celebrating scoring the opener at The Emirates for Southampton in an eventual 1-1 draw, and last May infuriated them further by saying live on Sky he hoped the North London derby concluded in a draw.
It's not unjust to say paranoia and petulance have perhaps fuelled the sudden indifference though, and the 34-year-old made his feelings on his former employers clear before his side played Man City on April 8. Asked whether he'd thought about an unlikely win benefiting Arsenal, he told football.london: "Do you know what? My son in particular said this, so hopefully we can do something.
"We could do a lot of people a lot of good today, Arsenal fans particularly and myself as well included in that. Most important for me is to get Southampton a result, that’s gonna obviously benefit Arsenal going forward."
It didn't materialise, with the current Premier League basement boys brushed aside for 4-1 by Erling Haaland and co. But Walcott's words should have served to avert any suspicions that Arsenal was no longer a club close to his heart.
Indeed, amid his initial move to Everton he released an emotional goodbye statement: “I just want to say a massive thank you to all the Arsenal fans," he said.
“I've been so overwhelmed with the messages I have received today of good lucks and I can't thank you enough, and especially for the last 12 years. I just want to wish everyone at the club all the best for the future.”
There will be no room for the sentiment from either side on Friday though, and nor should there be. Mikel Arteta's side desperately need three points after throwing away 2-0 leads in their last two games at Liverpool and West Ham respectively, while time is running out for a Southampton team currently four points adrift of survival.
