ACADEMY product Theo Walcott has experienced trophy wins with Arsenal and major tournaments with England, but all that matters to him is keeping Saints in the Premier League against the odds. 

The team returned to winning ways as the 33-year-old made only his second start of the Premier League season during a 1-0 victory over Leicester on Saturday.

And, despite previous triumphs and with talk of possible retirement, he's completely focussed on playing, winning and keeping Saints up.

READ MORE: Walcott can now face six-year-old son following Saints victory

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Theo told the Daily Echo: "To be honest, I don’t look back now. What’s the point? I’m only going to waste time looking back. I’m looking forwards, I know it’s a cliché thing but I’ll have time to look back when I’m not playing, it’s as simple as that.

"Right now I’m in the thick of things and I want to help this team be where they want to be, which is in the Premier League. I don’t want to be wasting my energy thinking about something I can’t change, so I’m happy to play over the weekend and get the result. That’s all that matters to me.

"June and beyond? Goodness me, I might retire, who knows? This might retire me. We’ll see, I don’t know and I honestly have no idea. I’m very relaxed about what happens next beyond this season, I could be on your side of the fence talking to the players – who knows?

"I haven’t thought too far ahead, my main challenge is to keep this team up, help the players, help them learn some things from me and then I’ll make my decision."

Daily Echo:

Walcott is a leader in the dressing room and works alongside captain James Ward-Prowse and other more experienced professionals like Kyle Walker-Peters to guide and advise Saints starlets, including 20-year-old Charly Alcaraz, who scored the only goal to lift Saints off of the foot of the table.

He had appeared in all three previous games under Ruben Selles as a substitute. 

Walcott rejoined his boyhood club in 2020 after 14 years away.

Daily Echo:

Having burst onto the Championship scene just weeks after leaving school, he became the youngest-ever player in the Southampton first team, at 16 years and 143 days before transferring to Arsenal in January 2006, for a reported fee of £12 million.