The Arsenal and England winger Theo Walcott has until June to agree a new contract at the Emirates, and ahead of tomorrows FA Cup semifinal against Reading, Arsene Wenger has admitted that he is hoping that Walcott will stay.
“I believe he will have a great future and I want him to stay here,” Le Prof said. But then he went on to say that he will improve some more, but he doesn’t say that his future will be at Arsenal! “Walcott is getting better every week and will have a great goal scoring record in the future.” he added.
Having said that Wenger refused to confirm whether Walcott would make it into the starting XI for tomorrows match, saying that he had a squad full of talent to choose from. “We have a massive squad of 24 players at the moment and there are also players on loan. It’s important to get the right dimension,” Wenger added.
“We know each other better now and have a better balance in our team between attacking and defending. All the players have top, top quality, which makes it very difficult for me to pick my best team.
“They all deserve to play. Szczesny will play on Saturday. He had a very good performance at Manchester United (in our last FA Cup game).”
The comment about the “balance between attack and defence” gives me the idea that Walcott will NOT be on the teamsheet as he is not renowned for his defensive abilities, and he is hardly match-sharp at the moment. Should Wenger give Walcott a chance to prove he deserves a new contract?