Sam Allardyce feels Theo Walcott would have retired at Arsenal had he still been a first team regular.

Walcott joined Everton last month after spending 12 years at Arsenal.

He was no longer a regular in the first team, and knew he had to leave if he wanted to play every week again to be in with a chance to make the World Cup in Russia this summer.

The 28-year-old didn’t complain, and left the club on amicable terms.

His new manager, Sam Allardyce, believes that the mutual respect between player and club helped the move go ahead.

“I think a lot of negotiation was done by Theo,” he said, as reported by the Telegraph.

“Because of his service to the club and the fact he would accept what Arsene was doing, he is not a troublesome player who would throw the toys out of the pram.

“That respect between him and the club resulted in the move.

“There are no easy negotiations with Arsenal, believe you me, but eventually the negotiations got to where we did and the insistence for the first time ever from Theo that he wanted to leave, plus the respect they have for each other and the service he gave, probably was a factor.”

He added that Walcott would have been happy to end his career at Arsenal had he still been playing.

“A lot of things have been said about Theo – he hasn’t reached his full potential and all that – but I don’t know how you could say that after last season’s performance with 30-plus games and 19 goals.

“I think if he’d have been playing a lot this year he would have been happy to finish his career at Arsenal. 

“This time around, because he wasn’t getting his game time, he looked at his career and decided he had to leave. He chose us and hopefully he’ll be a big player for us.”

Walcott scored his first goals for Everton in their 2-1 win over Leicester in mid-week.

He struck twice before half-time to give Everton a much-needed win.

His third appearance for the club will come at the Emirates Stadium, just weeks after he left.

He should receive a decent reception from the fans who haven’t always shown the most patience with him, but at least respect what he did at the club.

You also wouldn’t put it past Walcott to score, given how much he thrives in space and enjoys playing against big opposition.