Theo looks like a little boy lost in a land of giants

The £12million teenager with the world at his feet signed for Arsenal with the promise that he would follow in the footsteps of his idol Thierry Henry.

Goals, glory and a place among the game's greats beckoned when Arsene Wenger signed the cheque to sign the boy from Berkshire.

Instead, Henry has taken teenage prodigy Bojan under his wing at Barcelona and Walcott is wandering around like a little boy lost.

Feeling his way around this Arsenal team and feeling the pinch. Walcott has work to do. Thrust in attack with the instruction to see off Spurs, Walcott was shackled in a manner that even surprised the regulars at White Hart Lane.

Spurs have conceded a staggering 29 goals in front of their own supporters this season, but they never looked like losing last night.

Arsenal hit the bar through Nicklas Bendtner from a Walcott cross, but that was as close as they came to making an impact in the first half of a onesided semi-final.

Talk of other teenage sensations and we are spoilt for choice. To think that Pele scored twice — one of them he counts among the greatest of his exceptional career — in the World Cup final against Sweden at the age of 17. Michael Owen blew away Roberto Ayala in St Etienne when he was just a year older and scored England's equaliser against Argentina at the 2002 World Cup.

And Wayne Rooney had only just received his National Insurance card through the post when he came on as a substitute for Everton and scored the winner against Arsenal at Goodison Park in October 2002.

Let's not go down the road of Cesc Fabregas and his remarkable story.

There were signs of tension in Wenger's voice last weekend when he admitted Walcott had struggled to develop at the pace required of a club competing for the Barclays Premier League title, the European Cup, FA Cup and Carling Cup year in, year out.

'At the moment, he is not where I expect him to be,' Wenger confessed and he underlined his case by leaving him out of the squad to face Fulham the following day.

At times, he shows the explosive side of his game that can frighten the life out of defenders.

Witness his breathtaking introduction against Manchester United earlier this season or the seat of pants appearances as a substitute last term. He remains unsure of his best position and uncertain whether he has a part to play in a team that will wait for no man.

He soldiered on at White Hart Lane, timing his runs and waiting for someone, anyone, to provide the killer pass.

It never came and he was eventually withdrawn in the 65th minute when Arsenal were trailing by four goals. He was replaced by Emmanel Adebayor who went on to show the youngster how it should be done by scoring in the 70th minute.

Michael Dawson, looking every inch a top class central defender whenever he plays alongside captain Ledley King, relished his battle with Bendtner and this time the Tottenham player came out on top.

Perhaps they remembered Bendtner's contribution at the Emirates last November when he arrived as a substitute and scored within seconds of his arrival on the pitch.

Bendtner scored again last night, but this time it was past his own keeper as he powered a header past Lukasz Fabianski under pressure from Dawson.

Dawson took care of one half of Arsenal's strike partnership and King took care of the other. When the Tottenham captain is fully fit, he is the finest ball playing central defender in Europe. Perhaps not quite in the same class as Jamie Carragher but awesome all the same.

At White Hart Lane, King was in that category with a textbook performance. Keep King fit and the Spurs defender should be a certainty for England's friendly against Switzerland on February 6.

He was superb, barking instructions and offering teammates all the encouragement needed to reach their first cup final for seven years.

When it comes to reading the game, King is up there with the best. His top-class interceptions kept Walcott waiting for a chance to spring Tottenham's defence, but King was too streetwise to be exposed by the youngster.

Walcott has made 54 appearances for Arsenal since his move from Southampton, but this was a long way short of his finest hour.

That moment arrived a year ago when he scored the opening goal in the Carling Cup Final against Chelsea, but another appearance in the final was beyond him last night. Indeed, it was beyond everyone at Arsenal.