Walcott set to become new teen sensation

Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott took another huge step from anonymous adolescent to soccer celebrity when he was included in England's World Cup plans.

Walcott, who turned 17 in March, only made his senior debut for Southampton eight months ago in the English second division but has been named in Sven-Goran Eriksson provisional squad.

"If you take a 17-year-old boy to the World Cup, of course you can't be sure," Eriksson said after callig him up on Monday. "But the feeling is that I think he's ready for it."

Walcott was just 16 years and 143 days old when he became the youngest first-team player in Southampton's history as a substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers in August, 2005.

He made such an impact that he was transferred to Arsenal for £5 million, possibly rising to £12 million, in January but has yet to play in the Premieship.

Despite that Eriksson is prepared to gamble on the unproven youngster's talent, pace and potential to emerge as a possible replacement for injured first-choice forward Wayne Rooney.

Rooney, 20, is recovering from a broken bone in his foot but was also included in Eriksson's 23-man squad.

Walcott has not played a senior game since his last appearance for Southampton on Jan. 14 and has played only three times for Arsenal's reserves, scoring two goals.

Eriksson said on Monday that he had discussed Walcott's inclusion in the squad with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"In this case, it was more important than with all the other players because I couldn't go round the country to see him play Premier League football," said Eriksson. "So, of course, I spoke a lot to Wenger about it."

Wenger said on signing Walcott that the youngster was "a versatile player who is incredibly dedicated, shows great determination to succeed and is blessed with electric pace.

"I see him (playing) up front everywhere, left, right and centre. I believe he has the same ingredients at the same age as Wayne Rooney to be a big prospect for England."

His pace and temperament saw Walcott become the youngest player to feature for Southampton reserves in Sept. 2004.

Six months later on March 16th he celebrated his 16th birthday by signing a professional contract with Southampton that was expected to keep him on the south coast until 2008.

After his first-team debut as a substitute he made his first start at Leeds United on Oct. 18, scoring his first senior goal. He went on to score a total of five goals in 23 appearances for Southampton before leaving to join Arsenal.

"Coming to Arsenal will give me the opportunity to work with world-class players every day and play football at the highest possible level," said Walcott.

He could not have dreamed then that he might make his full England debut before playing for Arsenal but that will happen if he gets international experience before the World Cup kicks off on June 9 in Germany.

Walcott could break Rooney's record as the youngest England international, which he set against Australia in 2003 aged 17 years and 111 days, if the Arsenal reserve appears against Hungary on May 30th or Jamaica on June 3rd.

If Walcott plays in Germany he will be the second youngest after Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside to appear in the World Cup finals. Whiteside played in 1982 aged 17 years and 41 days.

Walcott could also become  the youngest player since Pele in Sweden in 1958 to score a goal at the finals.