Theo Walcott has admitted that Thierry Henry's old 14 shirt was
in fact his second choice when he switched from his previous squad
number this summer.
The Englishman wore No 32 during his first three seasons at
Arsenal but opted to change a couple of months ago. He wanted the
No 8, last owned by Freddie Ljungberg. But that had already been
given to new signing Samir Nasri therefore Walcott decided to move
to the shirt worn by his hero, even though he knows that 'TH14'
carries a massive reputation
"For me it is best just to think of it as a number." said the
19-year-old. "But then I knew what to expect when I picked this
number.
"I actually asked for No 8 at first but Vic [Akers] said that
Samir Nasri had it so I was not complaining there. Then he said No
14 was available so straight away I said 'I'll have that' .
"Thierry was my idol. He looked after me when I was first here.
It was brilliant to train with him every day and watch what he did.
He was the best striker I have ever seen. So I suppose it's like
Ade having No 25 because Kanu had that.
"But as I say for me it is just a number."