Theo Walcott has played down suggestions he stalling on a new contract and dismissed talk of a bust-up with Arsene Wenger.
The England international has struggled to hold down a regular first team berth since returning from knee surgery back in November, making only five starts since the turn of the year.
While fitness issues have undoubtedly played a part, Walcott’s lack of game time has led to speculation that Wenger is deliberately playing hard ball with the player ahead of new contract talks.
Taking to social media, Walcott tweeted: “I don’t normally comment on false stories about myself but reports about contract demands & bust-ups with the boss are complete nonsense…”
He added: “There have been no contract talks as yet and my current focus is not on contracts but on doing my best for Arsenal FC.”
Speculation of a bust-up appears to stem from comments made by comedian Ian Stone on the popular Tuesday Club podcast. Relaying a conversation with Nigel Winterburn the BT Sport presenter talked of a training ground showdown that got a little feisty.
Until now the rumour hadn’t garnered much traction, but you can bet your arse it’ll now be reported by every Tom, Dick and Harry on Fleet Street.
Walcott is currently on international duty ahead of England’s games with Lithuania and Italy.
Wenger says contract talks have started, Theo says they haven’t. Don’t see this ending well!
wenger said contact had been made with the embassy – this could mean that contract negotiations have been scheduled.
Or Arsenal called Theo’s manager and Theo’s manager wisely said: “Not right now please, my client wants to play a couple of good games before discussing his future and his financial worth.”
Nigel Winterburn (reported on the Tuesday Club) said there had been a bust-up between Arsene and Theo.
Do we trust Nigel or Theo?
They actually corrected that and said Nigel said that wenger bawled out theo – not a bust up per se – so they could both be truthful –
Nigel was reported in the third person so he may not have actually “said” anything
Wenger said that the club made contacts to Walcott’s side. That doesn’t mean the “talks” have started because probably there hasn’t been any reply from Walcott yet.
Club’s rep: Mr Theo “Cameo” Walcott, we’d like to discuss about a new contract with you.
Cameo: Talk to my agent.
…
Club’s rep rang Cameo’s agent’s office number…
The automatic answering phone: leave us a message after the beeps and
we will come back to you in due (free-transfer) time.
Obviously, it’s not close enough to a free-transfer time yet!
Therefore, there is no contradiction between the two sides here, I think.
any true gooner pray,s and hopes theo can reacch the heights we all thought he,d aspire to. next season could be the one.
injuries over with.
Good. I hope he stays at least for his testimonial. Despite the fact it’s currently fashionable to slag him off, an injury to Giroud or Alexis and everyone would be cursing the fact we let him leave. It would make me sick to my stomach watching him bang them in for the pool. When in form still one of the most exciting attacking players around in my opinion.
Whatever the truth about Walcott’s stance in the contract talks, the fact is that scoring goals has been a “problem” since van Persie left. I say “problem”, because every title challenging club has a 30 goals striker in the form of Aguero and Costa who are backed capably by Dzeko/Bony and Remy/Drogba. Sanchez is probably our answer yet before Walcott’s injury he was our topscorer and was genuinely in a rich vein of form. My point is, even though Walcott’s defending might be rubbish on record but that was improving and we need competition up front for goals. We need… Read more »
” say “problem”, because every title challenging club has a 30 goals striker in the form of Aguero and Costa”. City won the title last seadonwiyh Aguero’ s 17 goals, and Giroud has a better goals per minute ratio than Costa this season
We are only 4 goals from being top scorers in the premiere league and that is despite Özil out for 3 months , O.G out for 3 months and the fore mentioned walcott out for that time and the benched. So i’m not sure it’s a problem anymore .. we have loaned out lots of offensive players and i’m quite sure that if walcott goes one will come in. I want theo to stay i’m a huge fan. But he needs to adapt and i really cant stand these long contract negotiations .. does he not want to stay ..… Read more »
I don’t expect him to live up to the number on his shirt, but it looks increasingly like he is taking the Podolski route – i.e. prioritising a goal, any goal, over his all round contribution to the team. To me, this effectively means he values a stronger hand in contract negotiations over the team’s long term success. When he was the major goal threat, his narrow self interest and the team’s interest sort of overlapped. We’ve got many options to score now, and – just like Welbeck – he better get used to the idea of earning his place… Read more »
why you got a down thumb makes me scratch my head at who exactly reads these things. your comment was spot on.
Mate hardly! When has anyone ever seen Walcott in the Arsenal line up and been licking their lips at what is to come? Good little player but haven’t missed him at all. Time to move on, get a big fee for him because he’s English and get a better player in.
Would love to see him in form ..its only been. What say 2 _3 years since he was knocking…er actually when did he score 25 premiereship goals? In one season ?
Chances are he’s off in the summer. Probably get a sum in the region of £20 million for him. Isn’t a bad deal for both sides. Shame he couldn’t develop into the world class player we had hoped but that’s football. Even though he’s a handy player to have, like Podolski you can’t justify the wages earned with the end product.
I don’t think he’ll sign.
Never really get it when people say ‘a good deal all round’ as if fans get anything out of a transfer fee. It can only be quantified by the quality of player brought in to replace that outgoing player.
So on that premise, I’d either like a straight swap deal with Sterling or Theo sold abroad and Dybala as his replacement.
Sorry, talk of Sterling to Arsenal is ludicrous. For one thing, Sterling wants MORE than Walcott. Would WE pay him if Liverpool don’t? And why the hell would Liverpool sell to their rivals?? It’d be a bad deal for us anyway. Walcott and Sturridge up front makes me shudder
How do you know he wants more than heo , by the look of things he is asking for what Theo already has. And Sterlings ball control makes him a better fit then Theo in our current situation.. and a more versatile player.
But I actually prefer walcott if we could fit him in ..but unless he adapts we’ll need an extra DM on field or kindly ask our opponents to stop pussying around and play a high line .
I’m not sure he’ll sign for Liverpool – they’re unlikely to have CL football and this, allied with Rodgers’ wage beliefs means that they’re unlikely to pay him as much as Arsenal have been – unless they panic over the summer, of course, or need to replace Sterling already. The reality is that there aren’t really that many clubs he can go to – Chelsea won’t sign him, he doesn’t have the defensive discipline (heck, they sold Schurrle and Mata, at least the latter of which is a far more reliable player), Liverpool probably won’t have the cash, Manchester United… Read more »
The only reason I can see City going for him would be if they’re worried about the homegrown rules, if it does worry them then maybe we can gouge them further, but I still reckon Liverpool are the best offer he’s going to get domestically, and if they lose Sterling or simply feel the need to make a statement they would offer him enough imo.
If the sticking fee for Sterling is wages, it’s implausible that they would splash on a hefty transfer fee + comparable wages for a player who’s older than Sterling and, at least in terms of their current opinion, is less versatile and has less space to grow. It would also require Theo to sacrifice CL football for at least a season (as things stand) and, with Chelsea and City already strong, United probably re-establishing themselves as top 4 material and Arsenal pretty much nailed-on for top 4 (not to mention Tottenham usually being there or there abouts + the annual… Read more »
This analysis depends on Liverpool being sensible in the transfer market.
Let that sink in for a bit.
This comment needs far more likes. Lambert and Balotelli have hardly set the world on fire like they were meant to.
I think Sterlng probably wants more than Theo though, and the stcking point might not just be wages, if Sterling/his agent know that they can get a big wage increase from City AND a shot at winning things then he might be off anyway, leaving Liverpool with a need for a pacy wing forward and a big name.
I honestly think he’d be better off staying around here and learning/accepting that he needs to up his game or play a reduced role, rather than take a step down.
@assistentref – Fucking brilliant
Shitty just love our players….
Not sure what his market value is, transfermarket.com shows it at 28 million euros, but that is way too high in my opinion. If we get anything over 20 million pounds for him I’d sell him if I were Wenger. Certainly can find a much more versatile two-way player that can be effective in a variety of positions that we could have under contract for some time.
$28 million euros is £20 million pounds…
I’d just be gutted I wouldn’t have him of FIFA any more. Can’t beat 96 pace!
In seriousness though, he is a good player who, on his day, can be devastating to the opposition. I hope he stays and finds his form again with us.
COYG!!
Bust up? Who said anything about a bust up? I hope there hasn’t been a fracas
Rumours of a bust up or a fracas are unsubstantiated. However a squabble is a real possibility and if the truth about it being a ding-dong turn out to be true, well then we’ve got ourselves a real barney…
Good heavens!
We can sell him to Swansea, where he’ll score much more than Bony ever did, with plenty of hat-tricks against us. Or we could flush him down the toilet. Your choice gays.
What?
I like Theo and he looked like he was really getting into his stride before his injury against the spuds. I bet if Wenger gets a good offer he’ll let him go. He could do worse than go back South.
The idea of Theo in a bust up is laughable.
In fact if I were to rank arsenal players on likelihood of getting invovled in a brawl theo would probably come after arsenal ladies.
Don’t get me wrong I love Theo but think he’s a bit timid.
I think Sanchez would make a great boxer! Theo, uh, he sort of looks more like an overage person you hire to play a teenager in a teen rom-com or something.
add gibbs and we could have a love triangle
What is “bust up” even supposed to mean, anyway? It’s one of those terms bandied around in sports journalism that are so malleable and vague as to be completely devoid of meaning. It belongs to the same genre as phrases like “Club X are closing in on Player Y” or “Club A joins Club B in chase for Player C”.
Deliberately comments to get leverage. Bye bye Theo.
Theo’s time must surely be up?
You can’t come out and say contract talks haven’t even begun, Wenger himself said they have. And he’s got just over a YEAR left ffs.
Whether it’s Theo or his agent, it doesn’t matter. Imagine what Wenger will be thinking right now.
Some of you guys crack me up. There are two stages of contract negotiations, when the representatives (agent) negotiate with the club, then finally when the player enter’s the talk to accept/decline said offer. Obviously when Theo says it hasn’t begun, he’s implying himself. During this stage, he has no idea what’s going in with negotiations till the agent gets back to him. In fact in most cases, at this stage the manager wouldn’t even be involved (usually the chief exec) so to both manager and player, contract hasn’t “begun”. But of course Wenger isn’t just a typical manager so… Read more »
I’m sure Walcott’s aware of Wenger’s previous comments. I’m also sure he’s aware he is represented by his agent.
Don’t you think it would’ve been wise to at least check with his agent? Before taking to his twitter account (or getting his agent to take to his twitter account) explaining this stuff?
He should have been aware of how those tweets would make his manager look.
Doesn’t make his manager look like anything.
Tbh, and I know this will be incredibly unpopular here but…. Wenger shouldn’t have made it public in the first place.
Amazed no one has pointed that out tbh. For someone usually so secretive about contract talks, he was uncharacteristically open about the Theo situation, even making jibes at him (quick on the pitch, slow off it was uncalled for).
Wenger is the one that made the situation public now. All he had to do was just say contract talks are on going, we will see what happens.
The fact that Wenger doesn’t usually say stuff like this speaks volumes about the kind of off field shenanigans Walcott could be getting up to.
Lopsided and somewhat poorly informed Stillmatic. If you think players come in and then say, right, I don’t like this clause and this wage and these terms, you’re mistaken. Agents deal with the club, and then advise the player whether to sign or not, and then the player does what the agent suggests (99.9% of the time, or he then fires his agent). That’s what agents are paid for. Also, you should be able to see why Wenger has gone public. We are in a stronger position, and he is making it clear that the club will not be held… Read more »
Class player on his day, hope if he does go, its abroad, would hate us to have to face his pace.
I don’t buy this nonsense of “Am focusing on helping the team until the end of the season.”In reality he’s not helping the team at all rather than unsettling the manager,the team and the fans.Had he signed lets say in January,none of this would have happened.But since he is trying to play hard ball then he has to take on his chin every rumour and speculations linking to his contract situation.There is only one way to shut these c*nts up Theo……just sign da damn ting.
too inconsistent in patches. If we flog him for 20 mill plus and sign Dybala there are no complaints from me.Podolski and Campbell need to be sold off too
Why Dybala?
Have you seen him play?
No.
Who actually watches Serie A? Let alone Palermo.
Now if we could get hold of Reus…
He is actually good. Next Ageuro IMO
Dybala really!?We are way past those kind of players now.Why not go for Reus,Draxler,Griezmann etc.Those are Arsenal’s types of players not Dybala.We are not Sp*rs ffs!
Think im going to skip this saga, see you all down the way, x
I think 20 million for Theo is achievable, given he’s British, counts as home-grown and is young. We may even get slightly higher if there’s a bidding war.
If he goes though, we may need to consider bringing in a replacement, assuming Akpom and Gnabry aren’t quite ready yet. +/- 20 million would go just about half way towards what Reus may cost.
Would all the video game managers give it a rest now please.
Liverpool has paid well over 20 million for all sorts of hopeless losers. They’d pay 20 million for Theo if they decided they wanted him.
I think Blogs or Gunnerblogs said it on Arsecast Extra: Walcott is an inverted Welbeck. Where Welbeck involved and runs all over the pitch, Theo is more of a uninvolded creeper who parks close to the last man in defense. But unlike Welbeck, he’s an excellent finisher and will provide goals and assist. It’s a shame that his best season was followed by being benched a long time and then injured. He really could’ve fired on from there. But I do think that we should be able to use him better and more often. Perhaps now, he hasn’t bee used… Read more »
Yesh. Agreed.
assists? Goals yes, but assists? I mainly find Theo to be the guy who can run on to glorious passes from Ozil, and finish off 1 out of 4. If he can make it 1 out of 2.5, he’s a keeper for that alone. Someone needs to score more in this team to support Giroud, and it can’t be Ramsey because his game is becoming too top heavy.
I think theo is stalling talks coz he knows right now his position to negotiate is not strong. So he will try to prove his worth until the end of the season.
I agree with you!
The same thing happened last time, Theo will try to prove his worth and get a new deal in Jan. Everyone was saying the same thing last time too, blogs was adamant he was leaving.
Instead it was Theo’s best season in an Arsenal shirt & he got his deal.
Let’s hope history repeats itself.
Well I’m a huge Walcott fan. Will be gutted if he leaves, esp to pool which will just make it worse.
If he does go then maybe we can go for Reus maybe? Can play wing or striker
I don’t think there’s necessarily going to be a saga. Just look at things from Theo’s perspective for a moment. What does he get if he extends his contract now? Nothing. We’re not going to significantly raise his wages, because they’re already as high as they can go in our wage structure. So why would he want to extend? Assuming he gets at least some game time in the remainder of this season I expect he won’t sign a new deal but just stay here. He currently isn’t in the sort of form that will make him hugely wanted, so… Read more »
we have the right to sell him. Why should we be the kind of club that keeps an unhappy employee and realizes no value from their departure? You looked at it quite fairly from Walcott’s perspective (although I don’t totally agree, what exactly do you think his weekly wage should be, should it go up simply because he is about to get a new contract? Do you think someone else will pay him more? If they do, I would say it is silly money, but if he can get it, good luck to him), how about an equally fair assessment… Read more »
From the perspective of the club, it’s a sticky situation. We’ve backed ourselves into a corner by giving him a massive wage last time around, and now we’re paying him more than his role in the squad is worth, so we cannot tempt him with money. This leaves us two options: either we tempt him with football, or we blackmail him into signing or allowing himself to be sold. The problem is that tempting him with football probably isn’t going to happen within the 10 games we have left, while selling him would have to happen this summer, so it’s… Read more »
Also, I’m not saying Walcott should get more money. I’m saying that if Walcott is up to fighting for his place in the squad in the first half of next season, we should accept that we probably won’t resolve his future this summer and that we could lose him on a free.
If he wants to leave in the summer rather than fight for his place we should sell him, obviously.
We have more options than last time around but should still look to keep him.
He’ll do anything to keep his nice-boy image. He’s a money-grabbing cunt
That’s a bit strong – he’s an Arsenal player and could have fucked off on us 2 years ago when he was the last name we had.
I personally would love to see him sign up and fulfill his potential.
Ozil and Walcott has the potential of Bergkamp and Overmars or Bergkamp and Ljunberg.
I like Walcott but it feels like his time is coming to an end. He doesn’t have Arsene’s trust, quite Podolski-ish. He doesn’t work hard enough I’m afraid…Ox is going to bypass if he already hasn’t. Now is the time to sell – beyond speed, what does he really offer? Soon as that speed goes, he won’t be as nearly as effective.
PS whatever happened to Draxler??
Apparently he’s been a bit poo after having an injury, not seen any of him but I’m thinking, based on pretty much nothing, his situation is a bit like Barkely at the moment, plenty of talent but not really doing much with it for whatever reason.
He needs to grow a moustache. No way we could turn down a man with a tasteful tash to add to our collection of delectable coiffures.
I like the guy, he’s been pretty decent about things and always makes me happy when he’s involved in goals because his celebrations are so geared towards our supporters, just a fun watch overall. with that said, objectively speaking there are sooooo many flank players out there who could easily replace him. he’s not unreplaceable by any means. would just be nice for all parties if they can sort this out, and we move on properly whether he’s with us long term or gone off elsewhere. no need to sit here and bash him, he’s still an arsenal player, and… Read more »
Well said
Agreed. It is possible for a player to leave on good terms and for it to be of benefit to both parties. I’ll be sad to see him go but if that is for the best, then so be it.
If I were to sell Theo, I will go and get Berahino. Versatile and with good potential. He will want to show his abilities at the highest level. Also ECL will be a big draw. Most importantly it will be similar fees and less wages. Also home grown supposedly. What say?
I don’t like what I’ve heard about his attitude, the level of talent doesn’t appear to be worth the hassle.
Everyone and their gran knows he’s off in the Summer. Hopefully Rosicky, Podolski and Gibbs join him. Walcott is currently the 3rd choice right winger. It’s nothing to do with being punished about his contract or not tracking back. Wenger just rates Oxlade and Welbeck ahead of him. Walcott is our 3rd highest paid player on 100k. He’ll want a pay rise probably to 130k. Arsenal can’t/won’t offer this. How can they offer so much to a guy barely playing. Especially if we bring in another forward. He’ll leave to another English club for £20m. He might have lost something… Read more »
You lost me at Rosicky
As with the majority, I hope he does sign but the idea of letting him leave on a free is quite sickening.
He has given us some great moments and great goals too but it’s worth remembering that he has also received the faith of the manager at times during his development when most in the stadium wanted to string him up. running the ball out of play etc.
Don’t correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t arsene compare his rate of development above Messi at one time?
I hope he is reminded of that, down old embassy way.
Sell him. This isn’t a rash opinion, I thought it makes sense since the initial contract talks, where he held the club to ransom.
Theo is not good enough compared to so many others in the squad and others becoming available from other teams. Nice bloke though good luck Theo you gave us some great excitement (along with the great disappointment).
I wish you had learnt how to pass, compose yourself in front of goal ( when you have time), tackle, tackle back, be involved for lengths of time…I could go on…
I have been critical of Theo, loitering on the touchline, but I think when he plays with Ozil they have the same understanding that Bergkamp and Lungberg
Had. In fact I believe if Theo had not picked up the injury prior to the W.C he would have gone on to greater things. So I would give him more game time involving Ozil and hope that he warrants a new contract.
I rate him highly. He is very capable winger, just remember in one seasin he scored over 20 goals and got double figure assists as well. He strikes fear in defenders hearts. Though his injury problems are too persistent.
If Arsene cant agree on decent contract wigh him, lets sell him to Juve or somewhere abroad and raid Real again, this time for Bale. At least Tottenham would be pissed…
these are two very savvy tweets by an ill advised man. He has converted what is barely a story into a proper media surge by denying there was any such thing as a bust up. This is the kind of media management everyone in PR knows about, you talk about something by denying it. Or I am being paranoid. But it really isn’t like he was responding to a whole host of headline stories about “contract rebel Theo Walcott in training ground bust-up where he threatened Wenger and had to be restrained, and he was last seen walking off the… Read more »
Get rid. He’s for the most part useless
Like seriously. Useless. Against West Ham, there were a couple of times when we were breaking and I was looking to see where Theo was, expecting him to be sprinting to give Ozil or whoever a through ball. He was ambling around the centre circle behind the play. The only thing he brings is pace and the slightly inconsistent ability to finish. If he no longer has the will or understanding that this is what he needs to bring to the team, then sell him as soon as we can and at least get some money in for him.
Anonymous Physicist, although I wish the world was as altruistic as you seem to believe I think you may be wrong here. One of the downsides/tradeoffs for being paid huge sums to play a sport for a living is that your sport becomes a business and you become a commodity. I admire Wenger for his balance and desire to develop young talent. In exchange he offers a bit more stability and opportunity for development, more altruistic than many clubs. Theo played hardball last time clearly indicating to Wenger he was a viable commodity in the market. Wenger has an obligation… Read more »
Altruism would be Walcott signing a new deal for the same money just so we can get a (higher) transfer sum in case he wants to leave. Us not freezing him out of the squad if he doesn’t isn’t altruism, that’s common decency.
I feel the same way the other way around by the way: players who refuse to play to force a transfer are also jackasses in my book.
You sure theo needs all the media saying this saying that, from his own words no bust ups, he did well v lithuania as sub last night gibbs and gd goals and m.o.t.m welbeck 7 goals in 6 games,