England's Theo Walcott (right) reacts as he celebrates scoring their second goal of the game with team-mates. Picture: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

Theo Walcott believes there is more to come from him but has not made a bad start to his international career

Arsenal star Theo Walcott has denied accusations that he has not reached his full potential at international level.

The Gunners forward made his first start at tournament football on Friday, six years after being selected in Sven Goran Eriksson’s World Cup squad in 2006.

In those six years, the 23-year-old only picked up 26 caps and was omitted from Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad in 2010, despite scoring a hat-trick against Croatia in qualifying.

“People say I’ve not kicked on but, being only 23 and with 26 caps under my belt, I’d say it has not been too bad from my point of view,” Walcott said.

“There is still a lot to come but at 23 I’m getting a bit more experienced and I’m featuring in this tournament as well.

“Hopefully there will be a lot more to come from me and I can keep clocking those caps up.

“The goals will always come. I’ve always had that. This season just gone, I’ve scored goals and had assists and that’s what it is about as a winger.

“You are always judged on your stats like that.”