There are a lot of Arsenal transfer rumours this week suggesting that our England international forward Theo Walcott, who was called up again by Roy Hodgson this week, is demanding a pay rise in talks with the club over an extension to his current contract which will enter its final year this summer.
You do not have to be a genius to guess that Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board are not too keen on bowing to the 26-year old´s demands and will obviously be trying to get the best deal for the club. But what about us fans and what we think. Do we think Theo is worth more than the £100,000 he is supposedly on now? Do we even think Walcott should be given a new deal or should he be sold and replaced?
I am using a report by tsmplug.com on the Arsenal player salaries, which may not be exact or may have changed since the start of the season. Assuming it is correct though, it shows that Walcott is the third best player, along with Giroud, at the club behind Ozil and Alexis who are apparently on £140,000 a week.
The last time Walcott signed a new contract was in the middle of his best ever season as a Gunner, when he scored 21 goals and bagged a hatful of assists to boot. Some fans might say that he has not done anything in the two years since to prove that he deserves more or even the same, but we should remember that those two years have been plagued by injury. He was showing great form before that injury after all and an in form Walcott gives Arsenal something that no other player does.
It is a tough one for Wenger, that is for sure, and it brings up the old debate about our wage structure as well. When you see that Chelsea pay the likes of Costa, Fabregas, Hazard and John Terry around twice what we pay Walcott, you can understand the player’s point in wanting a raise. But then again, does he deserve to get more than players like Ramsey and Cazorla?
Personally I think Arsenal need to see something really special from Theo between now and the end of the season for him to have a chance of a bumper new contract. What do you think?
Footballers need to live in the real world and that means you get paid for what you are worth.
@Andrew AFC
RealTalk…
Theo needs to up his all around game in order to justify his demands…
Whats good Bro? Hope all is well with you and yours.
It’s been along time. How are you and your family good I hope? We are all well thanks for asking.
Walcott should be sold. He is a good player at times but lacks consistency. He is also an injury prone player. We need a world class wide player to replace him.
Sell Theo and get Reus, got enough RW at moment
I’m okay with £10,000 increase to £100,000 just for loyalty sake, but that’s it.
But he has been injured for over a year. He hasn’t really justified an increase. Like above said you should get paid what you are worth.
Alexis earned every penny in my opinion. Yes in recent weeks his play has gone down but he must be the hardest working, passionate player we have. Not to mention his proven quality. He is the reason we were in the top half this season.
Honestly, if Walcott holds us for ransom Then it’s better to part ways. There are better wingers in the world. Greizmann, Reus, Shurrel, Draxler, sterling, Ronaldo, Di Maria, Rodriguez etc.
Ya lets sell a home grown player like Theo and buy more players from League 1 in France and cement our fourth place trophy!
Uh the whippet has been a regular feature of 4th place finishes!!!! Sell without hesitation deserves a pay raise about as much as nick leeson deserves to be head of Bank of England…. Overhyped overrated overpaid and sadly over here …. Can’t dribble past defenders finish clinically defend when needed etc etc etc
@NIKK
Homegrown or not, as long as he’s been with us he hasn’t helped us get “above” our 4th place trophy…
I don’t care where a player comes from, as long as he can contribute to the advancement of the team…
I have read that we have offered Theo a drop in his current wages…hope thats not true
The only problem is that Liverpool have been after him for awhile…and I would HATE to see him playing in that team against us next year
If we can sell him abroad , I would be sad to see him go..but could take that…but NOT if he goes to Liverpool/ Man U or Chelsea
Who cares Kos will put Theo in his pocket.
Theo has got to show his worth, if he wants a salary hike! Players must learn ( no disrespect to theo) in general that clubs cannot be held to ransom for a players wage increase if they are not performing consistently to justify large salaries!
I regard Theo as top quality. Sometimes I wonder why he sits on the bench in favour of Welbeck who is a clumsier finisher. He is one of our best players despite not getting game time. Keeping him would save us the exorbitant cost of buying a replacement so my hope is that we pay him what he is worth. .. a lot more than 100 000.
Simply no. I’ve always thought apart from blistering pace he lacks decision making abilities, cant dribble like the ox and isnt that clinical. After a long lay off he needs to be a little more gracious! After all if pace is all we need doesnt bellerin play on the right and isnt he as fast as walcott? On the last article about us needing to smash Newcastle of course that would be great but I’d take a 2-1 injury free away win any day 🙂
I don’t think he’s done enough to justify an increase. He’s not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s pretty one-dimensional. His finishing isn’t particularly clinical, his touch isn’t the best, he doesn’t track back and the only way he can beat a defender is with his pace. It’s next to pointless playing him against a team that are going to sit deep and not let him in behind.
There are other players that offer more and have other attributes that make them useful to the team. When you consider that Sanchez, Welbeck, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gnabry can all play in his best position, then it’s difficult to see how much time he’s actually going to get on the pitch in the next few seasons, particularly if Ox continues to develop and if Gnabry starts reaching his potential. It seems a little wasteful to pay Walcott more to do less.
I wouldn’t be happy to see him go, but the premium paid for English players would most likely mean that any offer for him would be at an inflated value. If that allows us to strengthen the team in other areas, then I don’t think it would be the worst of decisions.
Walcott – bigger contract??
In a word…NO.
The Arsenal franchise model is
founded on making the top 4
and last 16 ECL.
Walcott when fit and in form fits the model well.
In fact aside from top players Kos Ozil and Sanchez
all our players fit the 4th place last 16 model
with a pay scale to match.
Walcotts pace, goal scoring, assists ,
his popularity his experience, his being a home grown player
and an English international means he is a
valuable asset if not a stellar player.
So yes he probably deserves a pay rise.
I mean we have Podolski paid 90 grand a week on loan
Diaby 60k in the medical room 4 years, Ryo 50k on loan on mars.
We payed Arshavin 90k to sit on the bench 2 years Park 60 k to play 4 games in four years Injury wreck Sanogo is some where in South London.
Walcott has payed a lot since his purchase. Unless his injury is not going to heal the franchise model would say yes he deserves a rise.
hes very under paid…..
just pay him what he wants….
a big and rich club like us are bargaining over wages….this is embarrassing
1 comment house of Rahman demands so.
Obey the house
what has he done to earn higher wages the past 2 seasons? Welbeck is even in front of him now, and when Ox returns its obvious he’ll be in front of Walcott too because he has way more potential nad much more to offer. Why pay 100k to someone who’s going to be a squad player very soon?
Walcott is not a top quality player,and he will never be one.
He has pace only ,no clinical and no judgement..
He never chase back like Sanchez,I don’t know whether he is lazy or he can’t be bothered.he has been scared to tackle in case he get injured, also his mind is on playing for England.
So he does not deserve more than 100.000, he should be sold and buy a
Top quality player like reus or Daxler.
If u look in the last three game he played,he was not impressive at all and
Wenger knows it.
Totally agree, we can do better than Theo. Being English we would get a big fee for him, which can go towards wc player.
Where does Theo get off asking for a wage increase after the club has paid him for sitting in the medical room for a year? So ungrateful honestly. He’s not as good as he thinks he is and if no agreement can be reached then do what needs to be done. I am so tired of seeing selfish players hold the club for ransom like this. Maybe in the past when we were selling all our stars they had a chance, but not anymore. Earn your salary or goodbye.
Its absolutely comical and borderline criminal that this wage increase is even under consideration. If Liverfool want to pay him Sanchez type money then be my guess and invest recklessly in a technically deficient player that can’t be bothered to play on both sides of the pitch. Ox, five years his junior is already a better all around player and should be the future @ right wing. For the type of money he is demading you would think Theo would be a top 10 player @ his position in the world. Is he cutrently that in the EPL?
I heard that MÜLLER earns less than Walcott,Wilshere,arteta and frankly i am surprised to see that stat in the web and shocked, but hey the silver lining is that arsene will keep faith on these players till he leaves.
He is not a first team material anymore, these injuries has taken their toll and he is not the fierce speedster he used to be. his finishing is not gr8 anyway, but he needs confidence and full game time to come good, so he has less and less chance. I hate to say, but since he is English, he will bring good money. Bring in bright young prospects for future with that investment( considering we will buy a good ball playing CDM, and a forward may be, anyway)