The Saints struck a deal with Walcott’s parent club Everton to take the player back to his boyhood club on a season-long loan deal on deadline day.

 

Having come through the ranks at St Mary’s, the move has been emotional for Walcott, and the 31-year-old insists that he will probably cry when he first takes to the pitch in a Southampton shirt yet again.

 

He admits he turned down offers from elsewhere.

 

 

“I had a few opportunities from other clubs”, Walcott told Southampton’s official site.

 

“But as soon as Southampton came in for me, it’s part of me and has made me into the player I am. It’s in my heart.

 

 

“I will probably cry, I bet, when I first play, and it means so much.

 

“All the people that made it happen, I can’t thank them enough. Honestly, I’m so pleased.

 

“I was seriously lost for words when Southampton came on the table, and for me it was such an easy decision.”

 

 

The prospect of working with manager Ralph Hasenhutl and the young players at St Mary’s excites Walcott, who feels that he has made the right choice by joining the Saints.

 

“To get the chance to work with the manager as well and these young players that are coming through, I feel like I’ve made the right choice.”

 

Walcott joined Arsenal in 2006 from Southampton and made 398 appearances before leaving the Gunners in 2018.

 

He will be looking to enjoy the regular game time that he was not guaranteed if he had stayed at Everton.