Arsenal star Walcott admits time is running out to secure World Cup place

05 October 2009 15:40
Theo Walcott fears he is running out of time to muscle in on a place in England's World Cup squad. The winger insists his prime concern is getting back into the Arsenal side after recovering from a back injury, but admits he may struggle to get back into Fabio Capello's plans. Walcott scored in Arsenal's 6-2 defeat of Blackburn Rovers on Sunday after coming on as a sub at the Emirates, but his performance was not enough to secure a place in the watching England manager's squad to face Ukraine and Belarus. Capello has instead turned to David Beckham, Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips, Tottenham's Aaron Lennon and Aston Villa's James Milner as options down the right flank. 'It is always great having competition because it brings the best out of you,' Walcott told the London Evening Standard. 'England has a great squad with a great bunch of lads and it's the same for Arsenal, with fantastic world-class players. 'At the moment I am thinking about trying to get back into the Arsenal starting line-up and I'm not really thinking about the World Cup at the moment. I will just try to keep playing well and see where it takes me. 'He (Capello) will want to keep the same bunch of lads together so you get that bond. We've only got about four games until the World Cup starts so there isn't much time to be involved.' Capello was not the only one watching on Sunday. Gunners legend Thierry Henry returned to the Emirates as one of a host of former players in attendance to mark Wenger's 13th anniversary in charge. Walcott inherited Henry's squad number and said: 'It was brilliant seeing him. I got him to sign a shirt with "Walcott 14" on so that's going on the wall next to the one he signed when I first joined. 'When your hero is here watching with his No 14 shirt on, it is a fantastic feeling.'

Source: Daily_Mail