It does not seem all that long ago that Arsenal were last holding talks with Theo Walcott and his representatives about a new contract, but in January it will be two years since he signed his current deal worth around £90,000 a week. And that one was only for three years, which is why the club have already begun talks over another contract for the England international, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Arsene Wenger revealed, “We are starting to sit down with him. He has one and a half years to go in December. It is never an easy job with him.
“It should be his best years from now because he is 25, so hopefully we can profit from that.
“He is a unique player, a player who has been here a long time and who gives us something different. He has been tremendous for the last few seasons. To have him back can only be a bonus for me.”
The last time these talks were going on, there was still a question mark in many Arsenal fans’ minds about whether the speedy striker would ever realise his early promise, but that has largely been answered with Theo finally showing that he is a great finisher. He ended that season with his best ever tally of 14 in the Premier League and 21 in all competitions.
And but for a bizarre abdominal problem that needed surgery and then his cruciate ligament problem, Walcott looked like he could do even better for Arsenal last season. And a report in The Mirror shows that some key stats suggest that a big reason for the Gunners not being able to keep up our title challenge last season was the loss of the 25-year old forward.
In his 13 league games, Theo made five assists and scored five goals. Our win ratio, points per game and goals per game were all better with Walcott on the pitch and while losing Aaron Ramsey was another major factor, the stats also show that the Welshman did better when Walcott was in the team.
So the contract talks should be a lot easier this time round, from both sides. Arsenal are now spending money and not selling our best players, showing Theo that last season’s FA cup should be the first of many trophy wins. And Arsenal should have no quibbles about giving the fast forward a nice pay rise to go with his new deal. Do you agree?