I think Rooney was more tolerated than welcomed back.
As for Arteta - you said some Evertonians take issue with him because he left for trophies - I'm just highlighting that this isn't true. It was all very amicable. Still is but I can understand why some fans took issue with him.
If Walcott celebrated scoring a penalty Vs Arsenal by running to away fans holding his badge an pulling a tongue I'd think he was a tit.
If I remember rightly it was to the Arsenal end not in front of the Everton fans? I think he apologised too?
I can see why it bothers people. It annoyed me enormously when Rooney did it, but a big part of it was he was born an Evertonian, did it infront of Everton fans and (on one occasion) did it on Alan Ball's death where some decorum was needed.
That being said I worry it's a bit small minded to get very concerned about such a thing. He has gone away from Everton and relished beating us and winning trophies, then crafted a coaching career elsewhere. In some ways you have to have some respect for people who do this (albeit begrudgingly) and recognise they are the sort of characters who will be more likely to get to the top.
My concern over Arteta is not principally that he kissed the Arsenal badge against us. It's his lack of experience. This squad is a million miles away from the City squad in terms of professionalism. How will he cope when they do something well on the training pitch Monday-Friday and bottle it on a Saturday as this lot do?
People's answer to this conundrum seems to be that he knows the club and he will have someone passionate like Tim Cahill on the sideline. It works well as an answer until you factor in we have had Duncan Ferguson doing that job for the last 4 years and hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
I'd be quite excited to see him back. As a club we have tended to do well with former players. Everton is a unique institution and being part of that shared history does give people a chance (part of Koeman/Allardyce and even Silva's) struggle seems to be they don't quite fit that. He's clearly a fantastic coach. It's a massive jump though.
