Theo Walcott will be on the plane to South Africa and will be able to offer a lot to England (11/2 to win World Cup on outright coupon), according to his manager.

Arsene Wenger has been unable to pick the winger regularly this season and he has only started five Premier League games for Arsenal, however his latest performance against Sunderland saw his terrorise the opposition’s defence in his side’s 2-0 win.

England boss Fabio Capello saw Walcott’s performance at the Emirates Stadium from the stands and the Italian manager could be considering taking the young winger on the plane.

The nation is in Group C for the World Cup and Walcott could offer the side some extra pace and penetration in games against Algeria, Slovenia and USA (66/1 to win competition on outright coupon).

Speaking about Walcott’s fitness, Wenger said “he is getting there” and getting back to the level which saw him become England’s youngest player to get a hat-trick.

“What we forget in football is that when players have been out for a long time it takes a while to get back to their best with sharpness, confidence and zip,” said Wenger.

“That is coming back now. I think he will make it, yes.”

England striker Wayne Rooney (12/1 to be top World Cup goalscorer on outright coupon) is quoted in many newspapers today saying that he found Capello “really intimidating” when the Italian manager first took over as the manager of the national side.