Theo Walcott has done much in his short life but the last week will play a significant part when he searches his memory for the highlights of what promises to be a glittering career.
The three goals he scored for England against Croatia, in Zagreb, allowed the19-year-old to enter the record books as his country’s youngest hat-trick hero. But with the reputation comes added pressure and, in the Stadion Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Walcott discovered that fame comes at a cost.
For much of Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kiev, Walcott was a heavily marked man, with left-back and captain Andriy Nesmachniy attending to the winger so closely that it left manager Arsene Wenger claiming he was “destroying” the player and could have been dismissed three times.
Walcott, though, remains the fresh-faced youngster that Arsenal bought into for around £9 million. He may be a marked man, but Walcott is not disturbed by such attention.
“It’s a nice feeling when a defender is scared of you straight away,” said Walcott. “It always puts a smile on your face and you think you’re going to win the battle.
“But you have to get at him. I got kicked a few times in Kiev but I got up and got on with it. You have to keep going to the last minute and that’s what I did. And thankfully it paid off when we scored in the last few minutes.”
Walcott featured for England in Barcelona against Andorra before his historic performance in Zagreb. Then came a 4-0 win at Blackburn, a difficult trip to Kiev, and on Saturday another long trip, to Bolton.
“It’s been a tough few days with a lot of travelling – Andorra, Croatia, Blackburn, Kiev and now Bolton. But it’s been really good because I really just want to play, that’s the main thing.
“Kiev was a very difficult game, but when you look back at the game I think it was a good result. We’ve got to be happy with it.”
Walcott’s life is changing but he remains an agreeable young man. In the summer the husband of his landlady at Southampton’s trainee lodge, Mike Upson, passed away. Naturally, Walcott was present at the funeral.
And, post-Zagreb, things will never be the same. “I’ve just got away from it and tried to be myself, take every game as it comes, train well – I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
“I am playing with more confidence. I just love playing for this club and for my country. Playing for Arsenal at 19 is a dream come true and starting in the Champions League has been brilliant.
“The extra attention hasn’t really got to me. It’s touched my family more than me. We had a few paparazzi outside our house. But I’ve just got away from it all by concentrating on my football. That’s all I can do.”
Teenage Kicks: Target Theo
9
The number of times Walcott was tackled during Dynamo Kiev game. He was the most fouled Arsenal player and the most fouled player in any of the four English clubs this week
5
The number of those tackles that were fouls
3
Times he has been fouled in the Premier League this season (in four games) .(telegraph)
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