It’s up to Theo Walcott to decide. The impasse surrounding his contract situation has taken many twists and turns throughout the summer. Now with two days remaining before the transfer window closes, both the parties have found themselves in a transfer window standoff.
The future of Walcott is already well documented along with ex-skipper Robin van Persies’ throughout the summer. Like the Dutchman, he too had only a year left in his contract. But unlike his skipper, he was not rebellion, instead always believed that his problems will be sorted out sooner or later.
Arsenal have now offered him a five year deal with a pay package of £75,000 per week. This has left the 23-year-old frustrated, as he wants a figure in the region of 90k per week, which Arsenal are unwilling to provide him right now.
Arsene Wenger has made it clear, that ‘either you take this’ or ‘else your departure will be sanctioned’. The club certainly cannot afford to lose a player of Walcott’s calibre for free, do they?
Even then, if he is allowed to leave, it will be frustrating to watch to see another top player from Arsenal leaving the club in one single summer. Despite purchasing Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla, the club has also sold two very good players. And the former Southampton player can follow the same trajectory too.
Liverpool and Manchester City are eager to capture his signature. Arsenal value him around £12m-£15m. The club probably is in a position to sell him and academy prospect Serge Gnabry, 17, will be fast-tracked into the senior squad.
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Why are the majority of footballers tody not loyal to their clubs anymore and only interested in money. They are just greedy. If Wallcot leaves so be it, but he has been offered £75,000 at the moment, who says this money will not increase. I think their agents keep pushing for more money, and they are the greediest of all!! As we all say NO player is bigger than any club!!
I hope Walcott really mean it – not to extent his contract. By the way, he is not a TOP player.
Walcott is probably displeased that players like Chamakh are sitting on £60k-per-week while his contribution seems (relatively) undervalued. How any normal human can be unhappy on that wage is beyond most people’s understanding. However, what it probably means is that bane of the game – the agent – has been whispering in his ear.
A wage like £75k-per-week is more than enough for a player who is merely an impact sub. He has phenomenal pace but can’t really capitalise on it and hasn’t enough trickery to beat his man. He is inconsistent, cannot cross enough dangerous balls and cannot really play the central striker role either.
In any case, is raw pace as important to Arsenal as it was? Many teams just drop deep against Arsenal and play on the counter-attack, even at home. So pace is not the devastating weapon it was once thought.
There are many players in the current squad who could step into the role and some – like Afobe – are out on loan because they cannot get game time. A player like Oxlade-Chamberlain already has more of a heavyweight stature about him and is a better investment for the future. Wenger has to make the calculation whether there is that much more to come from Walcott or to cash in now. If forced, he should cash in unhesitatingly.