Why Arsenal should give Walcott a new deal by Sam P
While there have been a fair few Arsenal transfer rumours linking us with the under fire Liverpool and England starlet Raheem Sterling, there have been plenty linking Theo Walcott with a possible move in the other direction. With Arsene Wenger hardly playing our flying forward and all the claims and counter claims about contract talks and demands, it has seemed increasingly as though this would be Walcott’s final season as a Gunner.
But the Frenchman leapt to the defence of his player last week after he struggled to influence the game as England struggled to a draw in Italy. Wenger suggested that Theo had not been used in the right way, also suggesting that he was still not completely match fit after that long injury lay-off and claiming that we would see the best of Walcott again. Now Metro are reporting that contract talks between him and Arsenal are now underway.
This is great news in my book. Walcott may not have the versatility of Welbeck or Alexis but what he is good at, he can be very good at. The recent England game and the fact that Giroud, Welbeck and Alexis are all ahead of him may have made Walcott give up on his centre forward ambitions. I hope so because that was a big reason why the last contract took so long.
And I doubt whether he will expect a pay rise either, as his current £100,000 is more than many key players at Arsenal get. So maybe Walcott is a bit of a luxury player, with his pace, movement and finishing from wide areas, mainly the right. But we should also remenbver just how good he can be in that role. Use him right and the 26-year old can be a devastating and almost unstoppable weapon.
Sign him up while the time is right Arsene. You’ll regret it otherwise if he joins a rival.