Walcott given double boost to save his Arsenal career

If all goes well for Arsenal in the next couple of weeks, Arsene Wenger will have an almost fully fit and refreshed squad of Arsenal players to choose from, with just Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy and Abou Diaby still unavailable. And that could make it even less likely for Theo Walcott to get the chances on the pitch to save his Arsenal career.

There will be just a year left on the England striker´s contract when this season ends and we know that Arsene Wenger does not want his players getting into that situation. With Theo apparently demanding a pay rise but the Gunners having a lot of good attacking options, many in the football media think that Wenger might well be looking to sell the long serving player.

With a crucial home game against Liverpool up first, Walcott could really do with a couple of impressive performances for Roy Hodgson in an England shirt to have any chance of starting, but at least his chances of doing that have been given a boost this week, as Adam Lallana has had to pull out with injury. Along with Andros Townsend, Walcott is the clear option to replace Lallana and the Spurs player is not in great form so hopefully Theo will get the nod and play well.

The other boost Walcott has is the rumour that Chuba Akpom is set to join Norwich on loan for the rest of the season, meaning less competition on the bench, so if Wenger does need more than Giroud, Alexis and Welbeck, it must surely be Walcott.

But will these two things be enough for Walcott to save his Arsenal career?

Tags Akpom England Lallana

28 Comments

  1. I think Ox might be better for us going forward. I think Theo is a great player but in the rough and tumble EPL I feel OX maybe better suited. Ox though is getting injury prone as well. 2 years now and we are in games needing his spark but unable to play him.
    C’mon OX stretch those hammies before every game.

    1. Mate, if Ox could score and assist he would retire Walcott and be in danger of benching Alexis! LOL. Seriously, I have a few mates who are life-long Soton supporters – and whilst no-one at St Marys has anything bad to say about Theo, in their eyes the OX was light years ahead of Theo in terms of ability and potential when he came through their ranks. I have real fears however for all hyped English kids in the game nowadays – none have gone on to be properly world class in the past 10 years.

  2. Im a huge fan of Theo but he cant demand more money than he is already being paid because he never finishes a season…..if he is trying to hold the club ransom then I would have no problem saying goodbye to him…..I hope the situation can be resolved though

    1. Football players have very short carreers, they will do all they can to gain as much money as they can before they turn 35…(eg Rvp, Sagna, Nasri now theo), common factor being all Arsenal players….im sure if we cut on dead wood we could pay better players more instead of allowin them to leave…im sure Theos more valuable then Podolski at the moment (even excluding the fact that Theos English).

      1. im not saying he can hold us to ransom – NOT even our best player has the ryt to do that but the reality is, it seems to be something very common at Arsenal…Beside Fabregas and Henry most of the others left for more money…he cant expect more than 100K a week…
        But strange fact is we pay players under 100k a week and expect to compare them to players that are paid over 200k a week (eg Rooney)….Walcott at the moment doesn’t deserve more than 100k but how much diff is he than a player like Rooney…(Yeah Rooney is good but he’s no Messi)
        Unless prepared to pay more than 100K a week salary, which quality replacement can we get for Walcott.

        1. Well we already have The Ox and Serge Gnabry, there’s also Wellington Silva who’s out on loan.

  3. Theo is English and overrated like all English players. If he wants more money he should move to City or Chelsea. He is simply not worth more.

    1. Its all well and good saying this about Theo greed etc but how many were saying it when Henry RVP Overmars and Coles contract talks stalled. I doubt many were speaking of those players the same way they speak of Theo before they up and left. Henrys and Vieiras contract negotiations were a huge stress every time they came around, much more stressful than Theos because the fear of losing those players was unimaginable.. they dragged out none the less. My point is they didnt get this lack of loyalty treatment.

  4. It’s unbelievable how us fans change our minds on certain players time and time again. It just seems like what mood we are in determines what we say.

    Sell Walcott to Liverpool or City as we have Sanchez, The Ox, Welbeck and Gnabry…

    Sell Wilshere to City as he is not good enough. We have Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Rosicky, Zalelem..

    Last summer it was, Sell Cazorla to At.Madrid as we have Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Zalelem etc..

    Since last season, Get rid of lamp post and donkey Giroud, invest in a young Balotelli, Jovetic, Benteke, Remy, Michu, Bony blah blah..

    Before last season it was, get rid of Ramsey, he is overrated.

    Before it was, get us Capuoe, M’villa blah blah..

    Get rid of Monreal etc..

    Smh

    1. Some people dont understand soccer. They think form is permanent. Why sell Theo? How many of you can be happy to get same salary for ten years?

      1. I think it depends on salary, isn’t it? I wouldn’t mind getting 100k A YEAR for ten years. I assume many here will sign for this deal instantly.

  5. I hope next season is as good or better for him as the 2012-13 season where he was our leading scorer with over 20 goals

    I want a WC striker but honestly:

    Sanchez in top form + Walcott in top form +.Ozil in top form +.Giroud at his best = Lots of goals

    I miss Debuchy A LOT. Bellerin has done an excellent job (we are lucky after sending Jenkison off on loan) He is a top quality RB and he played CB really well for a couple of games. He is better at CB then Monreal and maybe even Chambers

    Arteta

  6. I like Theo, he does give us something a little bit different going forward, but at the moment he is not a first 11 player.

    I don’t have him down as a goalscorer, just a player who weighs in occasionally. Before he got injured he was showing glimpses of the player we all hoped he’d become, but time has moved on. He needs to earn his place in the first 11 again, and if he thinks he deserves an improved contract he is totally mistaken.

    I want him to stay, but if he doesn’t extend his existing contract on no more than the same terms, then he can go, he isn’t worth anything more!

  7. Have you seen the new homegrown rules tha FA is proposing. They want it go from 8 to 12 players starting in 2016 and gradually increase it to 12 by 2020.

    We will need the Walcotts and Wilsheres unless we have some homegrown talent to back it up.

    1. By 2020 I believe both of them will be 30. Not like it really matter but kind of put things into perspective. I don’t even know if Wenger would be manager in 2020.

  8. The FA knows English players are crap, hence the crazy rules to give the English lads an unfair advantage. FACT

    1. I disagree. Once you build it up from grassroots and bring a lot more players into the game and you have the right coaching staff it can work. Germany started it 15 years ago and they are reaping the rewards.

      I think the new FA rules will help. Look at Beyern they have a good mix of foreign and German players this can be replicated to the EPL too.

      1. Not really. Germany has a much more relaxed home grown rule. They have to have 8 homegrown but it is not the same definition as in EPL as the youngsters must produce only a German passport. Germany reap now the rewards for investing huge (and I mean HUGE) amounts in the youth academies across the country. Think about the fact that Zelalem or Gnabry can play for Germany.

        1. I quote this from the FA website:

          In 2014, just 23 English players were playing Champions League football. That compares with 78 Spanish players, 55 from Germany and even 51 from Brazil – and the numbers will only get worse.

          Reducing the home grown rule to play 3 years up to 18 and not 21 will help a lot. This allows clubs to send players on loan abroad without losing the home grown status.

          Chelsea will reap rewards as at the moment they have 26 players on loan of which 50% will qualify under the new home grown rules. They still will have to find a place in the first team squad, but their selection on academy and loan level is huge.

  9. Agree completely – well said. Do you think Sterling and Walcott are trading text messages? Pool supporters are equally exasperated with RS but Rodgers is the architect of the problem – lying publicly and telling everyone that RS was the best/hottest young player in Europe. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA. What does he expect to happen if you tell porkies like that.

  10. To be honest he hasn’t set the world on fire when he has played lately. Not that there wasn’t opportunities for him to score he missed some easy chances. Pay rise I think not.

  11. i disagree if you are goood enough you.ll make it in the game no matter how many foreign players if you are given a chance that is!!

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