Gareth Southgate's decision to snub Theo Walcott was a shock, says Matt Le Tissier

Gareth Southgate's decision to leave Theo Walcott out of his latest England squad was a surprise, according to Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier.

Walcott played in three of Southgate's four games as an interim manager, which resulted in the 46-year-old landing the job on a permanent basis.

But Southgate opted to overlooked Walcott in last week's 26-man squad selection, despite being without the likes of Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge due to injury.

The Arsenal forward has scored eight goals in 21 Premier League appearances and must have felt aggrieved not to be included as he argued his case on the phone after being informed of Southgate's decision.

Walcott's hopes of playing at the 2018 World Cup are now under threat and Le Tissier says he was perplexed as to why the man who was once the jewel in Southampton's crown had been snubbed.

"I really was surprised," Le Tissier told Standard Sport.

"You look at his stats for this season - Arsenal have come in for a fair bit of criticism - but Walcott's got 17 goals in 30 appearances. That's a good return by anybody's standards.

"So to get left out the England squad when Harry Kane is the only Englishman to score more goals than him in all competitions - and he's injured - you do look at it and think 'oh'.

"That one did shock me a bit," Le Tissier added.

Southgate has played down the significance of Walcott's omission and insists the door is still open for the 28-year-old to force his way back into the fold.

Walcott has never played at a World Cup, despite being taken to the tournament as a teenager in 2006.

The Gunners forward was injured for the event in 2010 and was also overlooked by Roy Hodgson for the trip to Brazil three years ago.

Matt Le Tissier is supporting Jeff Stelling’s latest unbelievable walking challenge for Prostate Cancer UK. Stelling aims to raise £500,000 on his March for Men. That’s 15 walking marathons in 15 days from June 2-16, from Exeter City to Newcastle United – St James Park to St James’ Park. For more details go to prostatecanceruk.org/jeffsmarch

The mega event is part of Prostate Cancer UK’s wider walking programme, March for Men, which includes a trio of Local Walks across Father’s Day weekend, including one in London on Saturday, June 17th. British dancer Wayne Sleep, is set to front the march and walk with his family and friends at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. To find out more about the London walk go to marchformen.org