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Football

21st Sep 2018

Theo Walcott thinks Arsenal fans will ‘respect’ it if he celebrates scoring against them

Simon Lloyd

Should or should you not celebrate a goal against a former club?

A debate that always seems to do the rounds at least once a season.

Thanks to Theo Walcott, it might well be set to start up again following the Everton forward’s latest comments ahead of his return to Arsenal at the weekend.

Walcott left Arsenal for Goodison Park last January, bringing to a close a 12-year stay with the north London club. Sunday will be the second time he’s played at The Emirates since his departure – the first being Everton’s 5-1 defeat in early February.

Walcott's first return to Arsenal ended in a 5-1 defeat for Everton

As part of an interview with John Cross in The Mirror, the 29-year-old revealed that he would have no problems with celebrating if he were to score in the game, adding that he believed the Arsenal fans would “respect” it..

“Yeah, I would [celebrate],” Walcott reveals. “I think the Arsenal fans will respect that as well.

“I scored against Southampton a few times and I celebrated, this season I scored against them and I celebrated.

“Why can you not 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 scoring goals, it’s a great feeling.

“You’re not going to go into the game thinking ‘oh I don’t want to win today, I’ll let the other 10 in a blue shirt take this one because I used to play for Arsenal’. Just get on with it. I want to win.”