Being dropped by England for the World Cup might be the making of Theo Walcott as the pacy winger attempts to add consistency to his undoubted talent.
The 21-year-old Arsenal forward failed to make the cut when England manager Fabio Capello announced his final 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa, having struggled to make an impact in two warmup matches.
But Walcott has bounced back strongly at the start of this season, regaining his place in the England team for the friendly against Hungary earlier this month and then impressing for his club in the opening two games of the Premier League campaign.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who signed Walcott as a 16-year-old in 2006, believes this could be a breakthrough year for the player.
"He is now at an age where usually players start, so you cannot say he is at the peak of his game - there is a lot to come from Theo," Wenger said.
"There are two things - he has to keep his attitude right and be injury free because that can decide careers as well."
Walcott shot to prominence when he was a surprise selection in England's squad for the 2006 World Cup, although he did not play a match in the tournament.
Many expected his career to kick on when he became the youngest player to score a hat trick for England by hitting three in the 4-1 victory over Croatia in a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb in 2008.
But a mixture of injury and poor form saw him struggle to nail down a regular place for club or country and his exclusion from this year's World Cup was another setback for Walcott.
Wenger, though, believes fans will see the best of Walcott this season because he has finally had a summer's rest.
"He had a good preparation for the season for the first time in a long, long time, without being interrupted by an injury and without coming back late (from international duty)," Wenger said. "You can see that and we have known for two to three weeks that he has been sharp because he had a very good preparation.
"He is a guy who keeps his feet on the ground. He takes life in a positive way and sees always the glass half full, not half empty. He took (being dropped by England for the World Cup) as another challenge. That's what amazing about Theo."
Walcott looked back to his best in scoring a hat trick - his first for Arsenal - in Saturday's 6-0 win over Blackpool at the Emirates Stadium.
It remains to be seen whether he can keep that form up for the rest of the season, for both England and his club.
