Former Arsenal forward, Theo Walcott, has announced his retirement from football following his departure from Southampton at the end of last season.

Walcott, who scored more than 100 goals for Arsenal and won 47 England caps, had been linked with a move to Bournemouth and League One outfit Reading earlier this summer.

But the 34-year-old has called time on his career, confirming his retirement with a video on his social media accounts on Friday, having made 563 club appearances and won three FA Cups alongside two Community Shields.

Walcott, who scored 129 goals in all competitions, spent the majority of his career in north London at Arsenal after joining the club in January 2006 aged 16 from Southampton for an initial £5 million rising to £12 million.

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The former Arsenal, Everton, and Southampton winger scored 80 goals in 397 Premier League appearances.

He was sensationally named by Sven-Goran Eriksson in England’s World Cup squad that summer despite not featuring for the Gunners in the second half of the 2005/06 campaign.

Walcott became England’s youngest player at the age of 17 years and 75 days when he appeared in a friendly win over Hungary in May 2006.

He scored eight times for his country, including a hat-trick against Croatia in World Cup qualifying in 2008 which made him the youngest player to score a treble for the Three Lions.

The Star