Arsenal have completed the signing of Southampton starlet Theo Walcott for an initial fee of £5 million.
That figure could rise to £12 million, depending on club and international appearances, and the 16-year-old will link up with the Premiership outfit immediately.
He has initially joined the club as a scholar and will only sign full professional forms when he celebrates his 17th birthday on March 16.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says that he is delighted to have signed the youngster, telling the club's official website: "Theo Walcott is a very young player, but has already shown in his performances for Southampton that he is a talented player with huge potential.
"I also like the fact that he is a versatile player who is incredibly dedicated, shows great determination to succeed and is blessed with electric pace. We are delighted Theo has signed for the club and will make a fantastic addition to our squad.”
Walcott himself added: "I’m so pleased to be joining Arsenal, a club I have admired for a long time. Coming to Arsenal will give me the opportunity to work with world class players every day and play football at the highest possible level.
"It’s a strange day, because I’m also very sad to be moving from Southampton. I’m leaving many friends and some great coaches who have been so important to my career so far, but I leave with many great memories from the club.
"I’m now really looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and working hard as an Arsenal player.”
Saints chairman Rupert Lowe was understandably downbeat about the deal, however, confessing that he may have made a mistake in placing Walcott's talents in the shop window at such an early stage.
"We are bitterly disappointed," he admitted. "The purpose of developing the best academy in the country is not to sell scholars to larger clubs.
"We have done everything to keep Theo at Southampton but his family and advisors are determined that he leave this club and go to Arsenal.
“Theo has shown what he is capable of in his first season of senior football and I know every Saints fan will feel let down.
“We have been put in a situation where, (on the advice of Theo's advisors) we either negotiated compensation with Theo’s preferred club or faced ending up in front of the Football League Appeals Committee following cancellation.
"The largest upfront award that body has ever made was £400,000. Had Theo joined an overseas club, the situation could have been even worse with no appeal committee and payment only of Fifa compensation on a set scale.
"Sometimes you have to be a pragmatist."
Lowe went on to add that, although he feels the transfer highlights a loophole which needs closing, he also accepts that some fans will blame him for the prodigy's departure.
"I have no doubt that I will be blamed for this situation by a part of the fan base but if the board and I have been at fault; it has been in playing and therefore showcasing a young player who is not under a full professional contract," he continued.
“The loophole this episode has revealed needs to be remedied by the football establishment as a matter of urgency before the Academy system is discredited. Perhaps England should move to a system such as that in the Czech Republic where young players can be signed as a professional at 16.
"The game needs young people like Theo but this won't happen if the clubs who produce them suffer the same fate as we would in this case."
It had been rumoured that Walcott could return to St Mary's in a loan deal, but that will not happen as FA rules do not permit the loaning of a scholar, while Arsenal are understood to want sole responsibility for the player's future development.
That figure could rise to £12 million, depending on club and international appearances, and the 16-year-old will link up with the Premiership outfit immediately.
He has initially joined the club as a scholar and will only sign full professional forms when he celebrates his 17th birthday on March 16.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says that he is delighted to have signed the youngster, telling the club's official website: "Theo Walcott is a very young player, but has already shown in his performances for Southampton that he is a talented player with huge potential.
"I also like the fact that he is a versatile player who is incredibly dedicated, shows great determination to succeed and is blessed with electric pace. We are delighted Theo has signed for the club and will make a fantastic addition to our squad.”
Walcott himself added: "I’m so pleased to be joining Arsenal, a club I have admired for a long time. Coming to Arsenal will give me the opportunity to work with world class players every day and play football at the highest possible level.
"It’s a strange day, because I’m also very sad to be moving from Southampton. I’m leaving many friends and some great coaches who have been so important to my career so far, but I leave with many great memories from the club.
"I’m now really looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and working hard as an Arsenal player.”
Saints chairman Rupert Lowe was understandably downbeat about the deal, however, confessing that he may have made a mistake in placing Walcott's talents in the shop window at such an early stage.
"We are bitterly disappointed," he admitted. "The purpose of developing the best academy in the country is not to sell scholars to larger clubs.
"We have done everything to keep Theo at Southampton but his family and advisors are determined that he leave this club and go to Arsenal.
“Theo has shown what he is capable of in his first season of senior football and I know every Saints fan will feel let down.
“We have been put in a situation where, (on the advice of Theo's advisors) we either negotiated compensation with Theo’s preferred club or faced ending up in front of the Football League Appeals Committee following cancellation.
"The largest upfront award that body has ever made was £400,000. Had Theo joined an overseas club, the situation could have been even worse with no appeal committee and payment only of Fifa compensation on a set scale.
"Sometimes you have to be a pragmatist."
Lowe went on to add that, although he feels the transfer highlights a loophole which needs closing, he also accepts that some fans will blame him for the prodigy's departure.
"I have no doubt that I will be blamed for this situation by a part of the fan base but if the board and I have been at fault; it has been in playing and therefore showcasing a young player who is not under a full professional contract," he continued.
“The loophole this episode has revealed needs to be remedied by the football establishment as a matter of urgency before the Academy system is discredited. Perhaps England should move to a system such as that in the Czech Republic where young players can be signed as a professional at 16.
"The game needs young people like Theo but this won't happen if the clubs who produce them suffer the same fate as we would in this case."
It had been rumoured that Walcott could return to St Mary's in a loan deal, but that will not happen as FA rules do not permit the loaning of a scholar, while Arsenal are understood to want sole responsibility for the player's future development.
