Theo Walcott: What Now?

Should England beat the odds and go on to lift the coveted Jules Rimet trophy later this summer, no one would regret his absence from that squad more than young Theo Walcott.

A frustrating domestic season ended on a poor note for the Arsenal winger (striker?) as he was unceremoniously dumped out of the 23 man England squad bound for South Africa.

It is not surprising that he was left out of the squad, but what is surprising is the fact that the man who was chosen ahead of him, Manchester City's Shaun Wright Phillips, has had as bad a season as Walcott. 

To the unbiased viewer, since the time he was absurdly picked by Sven-Goran Eriksson for England's last unsuccessful World Cup campaign, Walcott's career has had only two very notable moments.

The first was that wonderful box to box run that seemed to offer hope that Arsenal would edge out Liverpool in the quarter final match Champion's league in 2008.

The second was the hat-trick he scored against Croatia in a World Cup qualifier.

Apart from those memorable performances, Walcott has been utterly inconsistent in form throughout his playing career for Arsenal and England. Some, like Chris Waddle and Ian Wright have gone on to accuse the youngster of having no footballing brain.

While it is short-sighted to accept the opinions of the excellent Mr. Brian Glanville, who never grows weary of reminding his readers about Walcott's hat-trick, that Walcott is the best choice for England, it is equally foolish to assume he is rubbish.

Walcott surely has the potential to develop into a great player, but there are certain aspects he needs to add to his game to complement his road-runner like pace, most notably of course the delivery of his final ball.

It is this aspect of his play that has let Walcott down on many many occasions and perhaps the blow of being left out of the England squad would make him finally introspect and spark a desire in him to become a more complete player.

A forced hiatus has made many a player improve his game, notable among them Rio Ferdinand.

After he was left out of the England team for the 2000 Euro, in spite being taken along to the World Cup in 1998, like Walcott, Ferdinand too faced the prospect of losing out on footballing glory.

He kept his head down and worked his socks off and is now surely one of the best defenders in the world.

It would do Walcott a world of good if he takes this as a challenge and works towards becoming the player that both Arsenal and England deserve.

Here's wishing him the best of luck.