Walcott will come back stronger

By Thomas Rooney

With the dust settling on the news that Theo Walcott missed out on the England World Cup squad, it is now time for the Arsenal winger to look ahead.

He is only 21-years-old and even though he won’t be involved in World Cup 2010 betting, he should still take part in least two World Cups.

There is certainly no way people can write Walcott off at this stage. He has a lot of learning to do and there is no better manager to do that under than Arsene Wenger.

Looking back, it might be the case that Walcott is still paying the price for being selected for the 2006 World Cup. Because he was involved in the squad at 17, people automatically assumed he would be involved again this time around.

The fact is that he still isn’t quite ready to be an established international footballer. He doesn’t even appear to have the belief to make an impact on World Cup betting Odds from the bench at the moment either.

With this in mind, it was probably a good decision to leave him out. Had he gone to South Africa and performed below par, it would have set him back even further. Two World Cups would have then affected his career in a potentially negative way.

Now though, he can look ahead to the 2014 World Cup – when he is 25 years old – and aim to be a fully established member of the England team. He would be near the near the prime of his career and could have a major impact on World football.

England captain Rio Ferdinand has backed up claims for Walcott to remain positive. The Manchester United defender said that the youngster should ‘hit the manager between the eyes’ with his performances for Arsenal and get himself back in the England squad.

Ferdinand himself had a similar experience at Walcott’s age, being selected for the 1998 World Cup, not playing a single game and then being overlooked for European Championships two years later.

As we all know, Ferdinand bounced back from this disappointment and is now one of the best central defenders around and captain of his Country. Walcott should look at this and use it as motivation.

After all, if we are being brutally honest, the 21-year-old probably has more talent and more potential than even Ferdinand had at a similar age. So just imagine what he could achieve in the next 10 years if he reacts to this week’s news in a positive manner.