Walcott to miss Champions League final
Theo Walcott will miss Arsenal’s Champions League final against Barcelona to join the England squad.
Arsene Wenger has told Sven-Goran Eriksson he can take Walcott to next week’s training camp in Portugal as long as the Gunners are not hit with new injuries.
Walcott, 17, was the shock inclusion in Eriksson’s 23-man squad for the World Cup, announced today.
The England boss has never seen the quicksilver teenager play in a competitive game and has barely spoken to him.
He admits it is a gamble but the Swede is willing to back his instincts.
Eriksson said: “I will meet him on Monday and I will speak to him. If nothing special happens at Arsenal he will come with us. I spoke to Arsene this morning.
“I haven’t seen him play live. I’ve seen him maybe three times in training.
“I was there on Saturday. I saw him play 11 against 11 on a half pitch. You can see how good the technique is because space is very small. And I saw him do some finishing.”
Wenger signed Walcott from Southampton in January for a deal worth up to £12m but the Newbury-born striker is still waiting for his Arsenal debut.
The Gunners face Barcelona in the Champions League final in Paris on Wednesday, May 17 but England’s World Cup squad fly to Portugal two days earlier.
Eriksson has done his research, speaking to Wenger and the coaches who have seen Walcott develop through the England junior ranks.
The England boss said: “I was starting to think about him in January, February and March.
“I heard about him when he played for Southampton and I started to phone people about him.
“The first thing I had to check was can he handle it and everyone we spoke to said yes. He is a very steady boy.
“I don’t think Walcott or Arsene Wenger thinks he is going to play seven games (of) 90 minutes in the World Cup.
“If you expect him to have the impact Pele had in 1958, we are talking about the wrong things but I am excited about it.”
Eriksson admits Walcott can play in Wayne Rooney’s role, off the main striker, but said he also planned to use Joe Cole in that position.
Rooney, in a race to be fit after breaking his foot, is in the squad but can be withdrawn if it becomes clear he has no chance of being fit.
Eriksson produced other surprise selections with uncapped Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon and Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing among the 23.
It was bad news for Shaun Wright-Phillips, Darren Bent, Jermain Defoe, Wes Brown and Ledley King who were all left out – although Defoe is on standby. Eriksson insists he is not making rash decisions just because he is on his way out of the job after Germany.
The England boss said: “Nothing has changed because I’m quitting after the World Cup.
“Those players, especially Lennon and Downing, have shown in the last two of three months that they should be in the squad.
“Yes, Walcott is a gamble but we can afford a little gamble in 23.”
