Just 18 months or so after his last contract dilemma, Theo Walcott has once again cast doubts in regards to his future. With about a year to run on his current deal, the Englishman is understood to be keeping his options open as a result of his limited first-team opportunities, while some media outlets in England are also claiming that a pay-hike is also one of the player’s demands.
Now although Theo weighs in with his fair share of goals and assists, the fact is that he’s been under-performing for quite some time now, even one year after his long-term injury setback. With Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all ahead of him in the pecking order, I really cannot see him breaking into the starting eleven any time soon. So should Arsenal really hand a new bumper deal for someone who’s going to sit on the bench on most occasions?
The fact is that Theo Walcott is already one of Arsenal’s highest-paid players and at this level, no contract extension comes without a significant hike in pay, and in my opinion, I really do not think the former Southampton man is worth it! Besides, the fact that he was only willing to sign a two-year extension at the age of 24 last time around shows how confident he is about his Arsenal future.
Personally, I think he should be sold. Being English, I’m pretty sure that his market value will most certainly be inflated, perhaps in the region of £20 – 25 million. If it were up to me, I’d take the money hands down and bring in a quality replacement who comes with consistency and a good amount of work-rate. According to the Daily Mirror, Barcelona’s Pedro will be available for just £15 million in the summer.