Theo Walcott has said he would celebrate against Arsenal if he manages to find the net on Sunday when he faces up to his old side at the Emirates.

In an interview with Matt Law in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, Walcott thinks about his answer for a minute before saying, “Yeah, I would.

“Why can’t you enjoy scoring and celebrating a goal for your new team with your fans? They have travelled all that way, enjoy it, simple as that. Some players choose not to and that’s fine, but it’s just who I am. Celebrate with your mates and the fans, they are your fans now. I want to win.”

I agree, Theo, you should celebrate if you score and I don’t think any Arsenal fan would hold that against you. We know that it wouldn’t come from a place of malice or disrespect, simply one player who has moved on celebrating with his new fans. There is no issue here but you can guarantee the press will make it into one should he score his third goal of the season on Sunday.

Theo also spoke about the end of his Arsenal career when Arsene Wenger had all-but frozen him out of the side after some misplaced comments to the press.

“I wasn’t enjoying my football,” he said “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t playing at Arsenal and I was frustrated. I was doing everything I could do, looking after myself, scoring and playing in the Europa League, then when the Cup game came but it wasn’t enough for me and I wanted more.

“Having spent so much time there, done so well, it did hurt, but that’s gone now. I had great times, but I feel like I’m going to have even greater times here at Everton. I’m playing with a smile on my face since my family came up as well.”

Walcott spent 12 years at Arsenal, making 397 appearances and scoring 108 goals with 78 assists. With the club, he won the FA Cup twice as well as BBC London Young Footballer of the Year in 2008.

How much Theo Walcott cost Arsenal?

Arsenal signed Walcott as a 16-year-old back in 2006. According to the figures provided by BBC Sport, he cost an initial £5m with that rising to £12.5m. In 2008, the two clubs agreed an early settlement, after Southampton suffered financial difficulties.

The final figure was around £9.1m, according to the Telegraph. Arsenal paid £5m initially, £2m in further instalments, an immediate payment of £1.6m in 2008 and another £500,000 later that year.

According to the Telegraph, Walcott’s original wages at the club were £30,000-a-week. That’s after he signed a professional contract on his 17th birthday (16th March 2006). Before that, there’s no record of how much he was paid. We can assume two months as an under-17 only earned him negligible amounts.

It was over three years until the winger renewed his deal for the first time. On May 8, 2009, the Gunners announced he’d signed a new deal. The Guardian reported that the contract was worth £60,000-a-week.

Walcott then signed another extension on 17th January 2013. The BBC report his wages increased to £100,000-a-week, and he also earned a £3m signing-on bonus.

On 31st July 2015, Walcott signed his final Arsenal contract extension. According to figures from the Guardian at the time, his wages went up to £140,000-a-week. However, more recent reports suggest the winger was actually only on £110,000-a-week.

Even the Guardian themselves now quote £110,000-a-week as his final Arsenal wage. I think it’s safe to assume that’s the correct figure. He remained on these wages until leaving for Everton.

The transfer to the Toffees on 17th January 2018 represents the only incoming fees on the list. The BBC report that the fee is £20m. Although there might be add-ons, there are no reliable reports on what they might be, and for now, we can assume £20m is all that Everton have paid.

Summary and overall cost

• 20th January 2006 – £9.1m transfer fee.
• 16th March 2006 – 8th May 2009 (164 weeks) – £30,000-a-week. £4.92m total.
• 8th May 2009 – 17th January 2013 (193 weeks) – £60,000-a-week. £11.58m total.
• 17th January 2013 – £3m signing bonus.
• 17th January 2013 – 31st July 2015 (132 weeks) – £100,000-a-week. £13.20m total.
• 31st July 2015 – 17th January 2018 (128 weeks) – £110,000-a-week. £14.08m total.
• 17th January 2018 – £20m transfer fee.

Adding up all those fees, Theo Walcott cost Arsenal £55.88m, and they recovered £20m from his sale. A total net cost to the club of £35.88m, for his 397 appearances and 108 goals.

For those who are interested, that’s £90,378 per appearance or £332,222 per goal.

You can make your own minds up whether that’s value for money.