Theo Walcott has been omitted from the provisional England squad for the Euro 2016, but this news will not come as a major surprise to the player according to Alan Smith.
Walcott has been struggling for game time at Arsenal especially in the second half of the 2015-16 season. There have been heavy rumours about Walcott being prepared to leave Arsenal in the summer with even Arsene Wenger admitting that the future of England international at the Emirates stadium was not certain. Wenger promised Walcott a role as the central striker when he was persuaded to sign a new four-year contract in 2015.
Now with only three years left on his existing deal, Arsenal are reportedly considering cashing in on the player. Walcott remains a saleable asset as he is only 27 years old. Even the player will feel confident about featuring for the England national team at a major tournament before the end of his career. Even though he has made 43 appearances for the national team since his debut in 2006, he has played in very little major tournaments. Walcott has been forced out of rage tournaments like the World Cup 2014 because of injuries. He was last seen in the Euro 2012 making an impact as a substitute.
Due to the plethora of options, Roy Hodgson has decided to omit Walcott.”He would have been expecting it, I think. He knows he hasn’t produced the form for Arsenal since coming back from injury that he would need to, given the competition for that place. Having said that, it was there to go for because Townsend has come from left field a little bit.Walcott didn’t take part yesterday [in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa] because of a slight hamstring injury. He would have been upset but would have accepted it,” said former England striker Smith.