He was in England’s World Cup squad in 2006 but 10 years on and supposed to be in his prime, Theo Walcott will not be going to Euro 2016. Time is running out for the Arsenal man to fulfil expectations but his career is a difficult one to assess, writes Adam Bate… Its a decade since Theo Walcott, Englands player-tourist, wandered through Baden-Baden armed with a video camera. Having not even played a game for Arsenal following his January move from Southampton, he was predictably given only a watching brief at the 2006 World Cup. But Sven-Goran Eriksson still departed with a promise. England squad named Marcus Rashford and Jack Wilshere are in Englands provisional 26-man squad for Euro 2016. Youll see that benefit in the next World Cup and then people will be sending me flowers, said Eriksson. Instead, Fabio Capello didnt even take Walcott to South Africa. Four years later, an anterior cruciate ligament injury made the choice for Roy Hodgson. Walcott wont be at Euro 2016 either and will be into his 30th year by the time of the next World Cup. Walcott poses with Arsene Wenger at his Arsenal unveiling in 2006 Where has the time gone? Walcotts career feels like its been on the cusp of reaching the summit of its potential for years now. And yet, could he instead find himself on the downslope without even realising it? At 27, its both a possibility and a shame. Because for all the criticism thats accumulated over the seasons, Walcotts talent is real.His Arsenal career began as a replacement for Freddie Ljungberg in the first ever Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium. Walcott even provided an assist for Gilberto Silvas equaliser that day. Its over nine years since he opened the scoring in the 2007 League Cup final but the wait for true acceptance with club or country continues. Hear why Roy Hodgson picked Andros Townsend instead of Theo Walcott for Englands provisional Euro 2016 squad Consider, for example, the fact that Walcott is already the longest-serving player on Arsenals payroll. He has spent more time at the club than either Ian Wright or Thierry Henry, but opinion is still divided. Walcott is a player who leaves fans wanting more, while still offering enough to leave them making the trek down the Holloway Road with hope.In some ways, the arc of his Arsenal career can be summed up by two derbies. The first came in February 2012. The Gunners were two goals down and Walcott was struggling more than most. Targeted by the home fans, he responded with a brace as Arsenal recovered to win 5-2. Even his first goal came after a poor touch, but it was a turning point of sorts. Walcott celebrating with Robin van Persie, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas Walcott scored 21 goals in the subsequent season, finishing as Arsenals top scorer. It felt like the start of a journey to the top but it now looks like the peak. He began the next campaign well but a cruciate injury against Tottenham in January 2014 was a huge blow. Hed scored five in five going into the game. More than two years on, hes still recovering.It wasnt apparent when he smiled and gesticulated to the Spurs supporters as he made his way from the field on a stretcher that day, but Walcotts confidence suffered. Speaking in October 2015, Arsene Wenger felt it was still a factor in his performances. The only way to help him is to reassure, give confidence, he said. I believe hes still aware of his injury. Walcott scored in the 5-2 win over Leicester in September 2015 Wenger revealed that he had conversations with the England national team about whether Walcott should feature in a European qualifier away to Lithuania because the game was being played on AstroTurf. This was almost a year after hed returned to action let alone picked up the injury. It took him a while to come back, I must say, admitted Wenger.Walcott started two consecutive matches on only two occasions last season - but did manage to score in all four of those games, including the opener in Arsenals FA Cup final win over Aston Villa at Wembley. It shows why Walcott has been worth persisting with. He always offers hope - doing enough to earn a new deal instead of being allowed to walk away. Walcott has scored eight goals in 43 appearances for England As recently as October and the 3-0 home win over Manchester United, Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness was moved to describe Walcotts performance as the best hed seen by him. But theres been little since, indicative of the sort of feast or famine that saw his only three England goals in his first 25 internationals come in one game against Croatia.Walcott did start nine games in a row either side of Christmas, but he has started only three of the last 20 games and two of them were against Hull in the FA Cup. At a time when Olivier Giroud was enduring a goal drought, its surely significant that Wenger still felt unable to entrust the role to Walcott. His managers frustration is clear. Theo Walcott reacts on social media to the news that hes not in Englands provisional squad for Euro 2016 Asked about how Walcott had progressed this term, Wenger said: Not as well as you could have expected. He had good periods in the season. I think recently he has gone through a much more difficult period. But he will come back. He works very hard. He puts in the effort in training.The problem with Theo is he wants to play on the right and through the middle. You have to fix yourself somewhere. Its true that I fixed him more through the middle, because of the quality of his runs and the intelligence of his runs. [But] when he does go through the middle he thinks maybe its better for me on the right. Walcott has not been trusted with too much game time in 2016 Its extraordinary that Wenger is still prevaricating over Walcotts best position at a time when hes already become eligible for a testimonial at the club. The comparison with Henrys transition from winger to forward is surely now moot - the Frenchman was a 21-year-old World Cup winner when he made the switch. Wengers words from earlier this year hint at the reality of the situation. The next four or five years will be absolutely decisive for him because that is when you make your career, he said. Thats when a good player becomes a great player, or just remains a good player. Its an indication that the time will soon pass for such discussions. The next four or five years will be absolutely decisive for him because that is when you make your career,. Thats when a good player becomes a great player, or just remains a good player. Arsene Wenger Walcott can comfort himself with the knowledge that Wright had yet to wear an Arsenal shirt at the same age and that Jamie Vardy hadnt played top-flight football of any kind. On the other hand, 27 was also the age at which Michael Owen scored his last England goal. Extreme pace and cruciate knee ligament injuries are a bad combination in the life of a footballer.Perhaps Walcotts footballing life has now taken another step towards its conclusion. The boy with the camcorder has become a man and weve barely noticed. While theres still time to leave a greater mark - to achieve all that once seemed possible - the fear is that a career defined by England squad selections might somehow be over before he knows it.Also See:England squad named for Euro 2016Rooney wants midfield roleCheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Air Max 95 Sale . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. http://www.wholesale95airmax.com/air-max-95-mens-sale.html . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Wholesale Air Max 95 . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Air Max 95 Womens Sale . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race.DENVER -- For the second straight day, the Texas Rangers pounced on the Colorado Rockies bullpen.Adrian Beltre hit a two-run double, Elvis Andrus added a tiebreaking single and the Rangers scored four runs in the eighth inning to beat the Rockies 7-5 on Tuesday.The AL West leaders had five hits in the inning and handed Colorado another tough loss in the two-game sweep. The late-game rally came after the Rangers scored three times in the ninth to beat the Rockies 4-3 on Monday night.The Rangers, who have won four straight and nine of 12, finished their road trip 5-3. The teams head to Texas to begin a two-game set Wednesday.Everything is kind of working out for us right now, Andrus said. We have to keep going the way were doing and continue to get more wins.On Tuesday, Texas had four consecutive hits as Carlos Beltran drove in a run with a single and Beltre tied the game with a two-run double. Andrus gave his team the lead when he drove in Beltre with his second hit of the game.Alex Claudio (3-1) threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief and Sam Dyson picked up his 25th save in 28 chances.We have a lineup that is so deep that we feel comfortable even if were behind, Beltre said. Obviously, we would like to start scoring runs earlier.Tyler Chatwood allowed two runs and struck out a season-high eight for Colorado, but Scott Oberg (0-1) allowed four runs in the eighth.The shaky bullpen performance comes after Carlos Estevez blew two ninth-inning leads in four days and was taken out of the closer role.Charlie Blackmon homered and doubled, rookie David Dahl tripled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, and Nolan Arenado drove in his National-League leading 90th and 91st RBI for the Rockies.Colorado has lost five of six and finished its homestand 3-5.I feel that we have played very well the last couple nights, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said, but we didnt avoid the big innings late. We have to be able to do that.A.J. Griffin struggled in his start for the Rangers, allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings. He avoided losing his first game since July 10 thanks to another Rangers late rally.Blackmon hit Griffins fourth pitch of the game over the wall in right-center field for his seventh leadoff home run of the season. Later in the inning, Dahl tripled and Areenado brought him home with a single to extend Colorados lead to 2-0.ddddddddddddrenado and Gerardo Parra each added an RBI single in the third. Mark Reynolds came off the bench and drove in a run with a single in the fifth to push the lead to 5-1.Robinson Chirinos had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Nomar Mazara drove in another run in the seventh.LONG ROADThe Rangers have played the most road games this season, going 33-30 in 63 games.Whatever weve done to this point on the road, it has been a challenge, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. But I think a challenge that these guys have endured.ESTEVEZ OUT AS CLOSEREstevez had five blown saves in 16 opportunities this season, two coming over the last four days.Im going to get him out of that role for a little bit just to let him catch his breath, Weiss said. Hes made of all the right stuff. Hes going to be a great closer in this league for a long time.RHP Adam Ottavino will take the bulk of the save opportunities going forward, Weiss said. Ottavino was the teams closer before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Beltran returned to the lineup after missing the previous two days with a bruise on his left quadriceps.Rockies: An MRI showed no new damage for OF Carlos Gonzalez (ankle), who sat out after he left in the second inning of Mondays 4-3 loss with left ankle inflammation. Its the third time Gonzalez has not been in the lineup since spraining his ankle on a groundout six days ago. ... SS Trevor Story (thumb), who is expected to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL Thursday, will get his stitches removed Aug. 19. He is in the strengthening phase right now, Rockies athletic trainer Keith Dugger said. Hes doing really good. He is pain free and has full range of motion.UP NEXTRangers: LHP Martin Perez (7-8, 4.33 ERA) is 0-4 with a 7.07 ERA in his past six starts. He allowed five runs in seven innings against Houston in his previous start.Rockies: LHP Jorge De La Rosa (7-7, 5.24 ERA) has a quality start in eight of his past nine outings. In his previous start, the 35-year-old allowed one run in six innings. ' ' '