When Theo Walcott brought to an end his 12-year stint with Arsenal to complete a move to Everton back in January, he declared he was heading north to help his new club “push to the next level”.
“I want to be part of something,” he said on penning a three-and-a-half year deal at Goodison Park. “I feel like this place will offer me that.”
Four months, 13 games and three goals into his Toffees career, the winger’s resolve to deliver on that vow has only strengthened.
A calf injury denied Walcott the chance to take on his former employers, Southampton, in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Goodison, but the 29-year-old is already focused on what lessons can be taken forward and heeded before it all kicks off again come mid-August.