He can start to become one of England’s most talented ever players. The attention he is now receiving from the media shouldn’t bother him like it potentially did Rooney and Owen

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By Thomas Rooney

At 19 year of age, it appears that Theo Walcott has the world and his feet. Not only has he become a regular member of a team that currently sits on top of the Premier League, but he recently became the youngest ever player to score a hat-trick for England. Not bad for a man who was playing Championship football with Southampton a couple of years ago is it?

Something that I want to avoid is building him up too much. It is often the English way to pile pressure on certain individuals on the back of a few good performances. However, there is something different about Theo Walcott. In the strictest sense of the term, he hasn’t ‘burst onto the scene’.

It has been over three years since he made his senior debut for Southampton, aged 16, against Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Mary’s. People knew he was a talent at this stage, but no one could have predicted how good he was going to get. More importantly though, in the long run, he was playing in England’s second tier and there wasn’t too much media attention on him. Wayne Rooney on the other hand, was scoring goals to end Arsenal’s unbeaten record in the Premier League at 16.

After continuing to impress at Southampton, Walcott was snapped up by Arsenal in January 2006 for a fee that could eventually rise to £12m – the highest ever paid for someone his age. This would have been when Walcott was introduced to the man that could help him become one of England’s finest talents – Mr Arsene Wenger. There isn’t a manager in the world I would rather see in charge of young English footballers.

This is when the media really started to get hold of him. A young Englishman signing for one of the best teams in the country was the ideal stage for claims such as ‘he is the best English talent ever produced’ to be made. However, under the guidance of Wenger, I was always confident Walcott wouldn’t be intimidated by this expectation.

Many managers may have been tempted to throw him straight in at the deep end, but Wenger held him back for the remainder of the 2005/2006 season. Walcott would have learned a lot from this though as he was able to train with the likes of Thierry Henry. Walcott was then called up to Sven Goran-Eriksson’s World Cup squad, but didn’t make an appearance during the tournament. Again though, he would have gained valuable experience on this trip.

He eventually made his first team debut in the opening game of the 2006/2007 season and made his first start on the 14th October against Watford. He went onto make 32 appearances that season, but only found the back of the net once in a league cup defeat to Chelsea.

Then, last season, he was heavily involved in Wenger’s plans once again. The standard of his performances were slightly inconsistent, but there were clear signs that was starting to look the part in an Arsenal shirt. Birmingham away for example – where he grabbed two goals – showed the quality he had.

With all of this experience behind him – first team football with Southampton, training with Henry under the guidance of Wenger, being called up by England and starting to play well for Arsenal – Walcott came into the start of the new season in good shape. He was starting more regularly and he was also in new England manager Fabio Capello’s plans. The football odds were certainly predicting a big season for the 19-year-old.

After an excellent game against Andorra, as we all know, he went on to score three goals during England’s 4-1 demolition of Croatia. It was what the media had been waiting for. It was Rooney’s Euro 2004; it was Michael Owen’s World Cup 1998. Theo Walcott had introduced himself on the international stage.

It should act as the springboard for him in my opinion. He can start to become one of England’s most talented ever players. The attention he is now receiving from the media shouldn’t bother him like it potentially did Rooney and Owen. Walcott has developed so much as a footballer since signing for Arsenal in 2006 and has matured into a very level headed young man. As long as Wenger remains at the helm – he is in very, very safe hands and perhaps the World Cup in 2010 will be the tournament of Theo Walcott.

By Thomas Rooney – A Sports Writer who blogs about football betting

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