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He was once hailed as the next great thing in English football, a teenage wonderkid with the world at his feet.

Ten years later, after a difficult journey of highs and lows, Theo Walcott is ready to abandon dreams of being the next Thierry Henry or Ian Wright in an attempt to rescue his career for Arsenal and England.

The 27-year-old forward has told Arsene Wenger he no longer wants to be considered as a solo striker at the Emirates.

He is happy to play where selected, but wants to go back to playing wide on the right again after a decade of failing to establish himself as a successor to those great names of the club’s recent past.

Walcott had a miserable season last term after winning a bumper contract only last summer on the back of a great goalscoring run.

(Image: Jeff Gross)

But he believes the way to win his way back into the hearts and minds of Wenger and disgruntled Arsenal fans is by working hard and going back to what he does best.

He has failed to impress in pre-season so far, going three games without a goal but gets a chance to impress again when the club departs for a two-game tour of Sweden on Thursday culminating in a weekend showdown with Manchester City.

(Image: Reuters)

Asked if he feared for his place again with Olivier Giroud the preferred solo striker and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette possibly coming in, he revealed: “That’s a question for the manager.

“I have told the manager that I want to be known for playing on the right again, although I can play up front.

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“As for myself, I know where I want to play. The manager has said I can play up front. It depends on what game it is. I know I can do a job up front as well as on the right.

“I want to make my position on the right; that’s where I am now.

“I have been here 10 years. There is always competition for places. It doesn’t matter what club you are at. I always believe that I can get back to where I want to be. I’m sure if I keep working hard then I will get there.”

Walcott marked a decade at Arsenal in January and has attempted to recover his starting role for club and country, spending some of his summer with expert personal trainer Bradley Simmonds. Then he reported back early for pre-season training.

(Image: Stuart MacFarlane)

Speaking at the end of Arsenal’s tour in Los Angeles, Walcott says all he wants now is to fulfil his potential with Arsenal’s first Premier League title since 2004.

He added: “Last season? It’s gone. It’s in the past, isn’t it? We don’t have to worry about it anymore.

“Is there any need to go on about the past? There generally isn’t, is there? If we dwell on the past, we are not going to get anywhere, We have just got to look forward.

“We can’t be dwelling on this silly trophy (title) drought. We have to forget about that. We won the FA Cup twice a couple of years ago. We have to forget about that as well.

(Image: Getty)

“It is a massive year for the club itself. We know what we need to do.

“Let’s be honest, we didn’t perform, especially on the run-in, but we managed to finish second. So we have got it in us. We have got to make sure we are at it every game now. That is where we need to be.”

Walcott also hopes a return to form for Arsenal will earn him an international recall under new boss Sam Allardyce.

He concluded: “It was disappointing [to miss the Euros], of course it was. But, again, there is no point dwelling on something that can’t be controlled now.

(Image: The FA via Getty Images)

“I want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, obviously.

“Sam Allardyce has come in. Everyone starts on a clean slate. I’m excited to see what he is going to bring.

“Mr Allardyce is someone who gets the best out of his players. He knows how to get results. He has done it everywhere. No offence to the clubs he has managed but he has got the best out of every player he has given an opportunity to and now he is working with England.

“His teams were always difficult to play against. That is what you want going into an England team. You want England to be difficult to break down. I’m sure he is going to be able to get results. At times, it is not all about the pretty football.”