ARSENAL hero Theo Walcott will be in the hot seat alongside Gary Lineker in next season’s Match of the Day.
It comes after former goalscorer Ian Wright, 60, emotionally stepped away from the role after 27 years at the end of the last campaign.
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Recently retired Joe Hart will also appear alongside Walcott in a new panel for the 24/25 Premier League season.
The former Manchester City and Celtic goalkeeper was easily talked about by the BBC during England’s run to the Euro final.
Meanwhile, Walcott, 35, has been a regular feature in Sky Sports’ top-flight games since calling time on his career last summer following a spell at boyhood club Southampton.
Alan Shearer will continue in his weekly role as commentator, while the likes of Micah Richards, Danny Murphy, Jermaine Jenas and Dion Dublin are expected to continue to be utilized as needed.
Weekly panellist Wright – affectionately nicknamed “Wrighty” – quit Match of the Day in May and has since revealed the reasons behind his surprise departure.
He told the Stick to Football Podcast: “The time has come. I had a dear friend who said that sometimes you need to know when to step back, change, rest, take a break and say no, it’s just time.
“The way I am now, because I have to go back to London from Manchester after filming, it’s 3:30 in the morning – it’s a long day.
“It takes me two or three days after that to get ready and there are other things I’m doing that sometimes I don’t have the energy for.”
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The new duo starred for England in several international tournaments and racked up an impressive 738 Premier League appearances between them.
Walcott became England’s youngest senior star at 17 years and 75 days against Hungary in May 2006, before being included in the World Cup squad that summer.
The 35-year-old brings plenty of Prem knowledge, having scored 108 goals in 270 appearances for Arsenal before joining Everton in 2018.
While Hart won 75 caps during his nine-year spell as the Three Lions’ No.1.
On Wright’s departure from Match of the Day, previous presenter Des Lynam, 81, said: “It’s a shame because he has become a first-class broadcaster and commentator.
“He speaks from the heart and speaks to people like that. He’s never soft. He made his first appearance on MotD when I was there.
“He came up, as a player, and said ‘Des, this is my Graceland’ because he’d been watching it since he was a boy.”
Lynam backed Micah Richards to take over from Wright and become a regular commentator on the BBC’s flagship football show.
He said: ‘I think it’s Richards, isn’t it? He has a sense of humor and knows football.
“I think he needs to calm down a bit, but his views are pretty solid, although I don’t think anyone can match Wrighty.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
