The Theo Walcott contract thing took another turn last night when Arsene Wenger contradicted the England international’s claim that there no talks planned over a new deal.
On Wednesday the winger said on Twitter, “There have been no contract talks as yet and my current focus is not on contracts but on doing my best for Arsenal FC”.
His statement came in the wake of media reports that discussions over his future had been put on hold until the summer.
However, last night Arsene Wenger seemed to counter that by telling beIN Sport, “We start to negotiate with Theo to extend his contract. Personally I would like to keep him.”
So the already muddied waters have become even more so. Are there talks? Or talks about talks? Maybe they’re having talks to decide whether or not to have talks about having talks.
It’s all a bit all over the place and it’s something that’s going to make the back pages plenty over the comings months.
Meanwhile, Wenger has backed Mesut Ozil after tabloid reports said he was partying in Berlin nightclub after missing Arsenal’s game against Newcastle through illness.
“Mesut was not partying,” he said. “He was out for dinner with some friends.
“If he was in a nightclub in Germany then you would have seen some pictures the next day. You know that is not possible.”
I think fans who claim he’s not surplus to requirements are a bit emotional. He can’t improve his dribbling or his passing, this is his peak.
Welbeck and Chamberlain have more potential and offer more than him even at their age now.
like I said in a previous post, we have no need to bash him as he really hasn’t done a thing to warrant it. however, he is very easily replaceable with an upgrade at that. if he and his camp are willing to actually step back and realize how good he has it at arsenal, then we may see resolution to this. however, wenger and arsenal easily have the upper hand here and should proceed accordingly.
“wenger and arsenal easily have the upper hand here”. How? A valuable asset who has had a lot of money invested in him (purchase and wages) can walk to a rival for free in one year and pick up a bigger wage if he chooses. And should he choose so, can pick up circa 100K a week until then for doing fuck-all. If we do choose to dispense with him it will be Arsenals decision to ‘cut their losses’, so to speak
If he does fuck all then I would hope he does walk. By upper hand it is meant the squad can absorb the loss with the quality and depth we have, and funds to replace if need be.
I’d like him to get back to form and sign, but I’m realistic enough to know the negotiating parties care fuck all about what I’d like.
he held us to ransom at his last contract negotiations & wants a 50% pay increase despite the fact he has been injured for half of his new contract.
I think that is reason to “bash” him
What’s this 50% increase thing? Really? 150k a week? That’s absurd.
Sad thing is, he might turn decent if he moves to a new club and feels he has something to prove. If he put in a decent defensive shift he’d be a pretty decent squad-player. Somebody like Rodgers could probably get him to do just that.
Funny you say Rodgers, Theo’s a childhood Liverpool fan.
Walcott would sign for Everton in a heartbeat if they give what he wants. No loyalties.
Very bored now.
Let’s just see what happens rather than endless debate who said what when, should he stay or should be go? etc etc.
Besides, Wenger said ” “We start”, as opposed to ‘we have started’. This would suggest to me that Arsenal are about to start negotiations. Perhaps an offer has been made, but not discussed or negotiated. There has absolutely not been any contradiction and this article is just regurgitating a lot of the spew that was in this mornings rags.
Good illustration!
Wenger’s English isn’t perfect.
Again, a good illustration of how boring this subject is now, a discussion of semantics.
He will either go or stay, we as fans have no say in this on a discussion board like this or in any other way.
I’m just going to wait to the summer and see now and try to think about something interesting.
Didn’t read the second and third paragraphs. This comment warranted a thumbs up after the first four lines
There’s no question that in a few years he might be a better player, but now with more financial stability and players like Sanchez and Ozil, who will soon peak themselves, we need players of quality to support each other on the pitch and challenge for titles.
I can’t say I agree totally with your assessment of Welbeck. I’ve tried to focus a bit more on him in recent games, and while he does have more potential than Theo, he does have a bit of that Theo-syndrome. His dribbling tends to lead to dispossession (esp. against the press) and his decision making is rather poor imho.
I like Welbeck but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still so much work to be done with him. And to be honest, given his poor finishing, I’m shocked more folks don’t label Welbeck “just another an overrated, overpriced Englishman.”
are you mad, welbeck almost every time beats the player in front of him when he tries to, and his drive forward and close control on the ball is much much better than walcott, but don’t forget that wlacott has the qualities that no one has at the club hist timely runs in matter of the seconds he is one on one with the GK even sanchez doesn’t have those runs that walcott has which is asset for us. how many times we saw a players this season made that run and be one on one with the GK i… Read more »
I agree, theo is usually pretty clinical when he’s through one on one. I’m conflicted about him. I remember the last time we had these negotiations and I really felt like he had a lot of our hearts in his hands (think back if you dare, lost cesc, lost chinless lesbian, lost the Dutch judas and song).although he extended at the time I couldn’t help but feel annoyed that he drew it out so long, compare his negotiations to Kosielnly… And Kos is more critical to the side than theo really ever will be. I can see a use for… Read more »
I’m sorry but The words Walcott & clinical should never be in the same sentence, Walcott will be sold in the summer. I don’t think Liverpool will get him as they have Sterling, Coutinho & Lallana. man city looks the best fit as Navas is poor & they can afford his 150,000 a week wage demands.
bye bye little boy
Very true. I personally like Theo, he’s grown tenfold over the last two seasons; the timing of his runs and end product has improved massively. However I’m with most of you on this, if he leaves there are plenty of replacements, internally – Ox, Gnabry, Sanchez can do a job at his position, or even if Wenger decides to buy new – I’d personally have no qualm if we get Reus to replace Theo.
Over the last two seasins?? How do you work that out he was out a whole season.
No he has not!
I agree! Walcott is a nice enough bloke getting some bad career advice, but he’s not good enough for our starting 11. Wenger would rather start Ox or Welbeck as stated and have someone cheap like Gnabry on the bench as a different option. I’d like to keep Theo as an impact sub or occasional first team player but he’s not worthy of being in the top 5 wage earners of the club.
Negotiations would depend on how many other clubs move for Theo. Currently there only seem to be 2 suitors. Liverpool won’t pay him higher wages than Arsenal. City need him just to fill their homegrown quota. Having seen how much game time Sagna, Jovetic and Scott Sinclair have been given, I don’t think moving to City is a great career move for Theo. Then again what do I know. I’m just surviving on minimum wage here!!!
100% Walcott would be a starter at City. Navas is their main weak point, Walcott is an upgrade on him at the very least.
Chamberlain yes but definitely not welbeck! I sometimes find it difficult to comprehend how fickle some of our club’s fans are. Before theo got injured in that fa cup match against the other lot he was being hailed as one of our best players. He is most definitely the most clinical finisher we have. And now suddenly after he spent almost a year out through a serious injury we don’t even allow him a proper run in the team and pass a judgement that he is not good enough? I can understand a few fans being fickle but looking at… Read more »
Before the FA Cup win we didn’t have better players in his position, now we do, and he wants to earn more than them. I’d never start Wally against a top team if I have Chambo, Welbeck and Alexis available. They all offer more than him now. That’s how far down the list he is. And if he wants to be top earner, he needs to earn that. However, I’m skeptical of his ability to do so.
I’ve kind of got this fantasy that if Walcott ends up leaving in the summer, and Rosicky decides to go abroad for his last year or two, we get in Marco Reus and he takes the No. 7 shirt of his all time hero Rosicky.
I think it’d be kind of poetic. Even though I don’t really want to lose either Theo or Rosicky
Brilliant bastard wenger, always putting the press in their murky place.
Aside Walcott talks, whats wrong with footballers partying?
They get too much cash anyway so we are divorced from understanding their lives and we just want them to behave like puppets saying things we have paid them for, which we generally do when they speak to the media.
Seeing them enjoying themselves as well is too much.
Agree, the best time for a player to go to a nightclub is actually when he is injured and can’t run fast without further damaging his hamstring or knee. The player knows he will not be playing in the following days so he can go to a nightclub without affecting his performance in next match.
I think he was “sick” not injured. Hence the kerfuffle. Ha. Predictive text thinks kerfuffle is “jug duffle”. Mmmmm delicious jug duffles.
I’d be partying if I was on 100k+ a week!
If selling Walcott would allow us to sign an improvement in that area of the pitch, then I can’t see us turning down that opportunity.
This is Arsenal we tend not to sign replacements
Well last summer we bought Podolski’s replacement for 35m before even selling him!
I don’t think we can compare today’s Arsenal with it’s huge sponsorship deals with the “we need to sell to break even” days.
This situation has more twists and turns than Alexis covered in Vaseline
I bet you’ve been waiting a long time to unleash that. cheers, one liner inserted timely and effectively.
Or the many bones and muscles in Abou Diaby’s poor beleaguered body.
🙁
I think Theo hit his peak for us duringnthe latter part of 2012 when he was negotiating his current contract. I remember him banging them in like it’s nothing (remember that Newcastle hat trick in the 7-3?!) but since then he’s been quiet, with his all round contributi8n coming in under more and more scrutiny and obviously 2014 being a total write-off. I say cash in on him.
The best Theo has done in Arsenal shirt was in a CL quaterfinal at Anfield. He produced a devastating run from Liverpool’s defence down the middle eliminating 3 or 4 players in a counter attack to set up Adebayor for the goal. The best Arsenal counter attack I have ever seen. It was top top top class. After the game Wenger said, if Theo had gone back to defend afterwards, he may have helped his team to progress to semifinals and his mesmerizing action wouldn’t have been in vain.
and that shit referee that gave liverpool very soft penalty, and one blatant penalty on hleb which he didn’t gave.
I remember that run. It had the makings of a career that was about to be launched Owen WC ’98 style.
I really think he did see himself in the Michael Owen mould, the diminutive pacey poacher so-to-speak but it unfortunate for him that the game seems to have changed just at the wrong time for him whereby a central striker has to be physically powerful to succeed.
*our game* changed I think would be more accurate, Messi and aguero don’t do too badly and they’re hardly physical specimens
Aguero is actually extremely powerful for his size, very rarely gets knocked off the ball.
And as for Messi, well, he’s just Messi. Unique.
That whole move unforgettable – it had been an evenly-matched contest. Made the hairs stand up celebrating that goal. Our defensive lapse after that goal that put us ahead was as bad for me as the whole Monaco debacle this year – we threw ourselves out of that competition.
Thanks for recalling Wenger’s words. I hear in them a man who can’t understand how a player with so much athleticism can’t utilise it in a defensive way.
I wouldn’t mind Theo leaving if it makes room for Reus, but I suspect the Reus train sailed when we spent £16m on Welbeck.
If we sign Reus and he plays better than Welbeck, then Welbeck will be sat on the bench. Just the competition that Wenger’s been referring to. The question actually is, will Reus come, considering he signed a new contract just a month ago.
If the decision is taken to let Walcott go then I think a move for Antoine Griezeman is much more likely than Reus. Reus will be very expensive as Real are believed to be keen.
Real doesnt have Tomas Rosicky in their ranks
Well if someone believes it it must be true then.
reus signing an extension was out of loyalty to his club in that it would allow them to gain a decent return on his sale. it’s obvious he was never going to stay with bvb much past another season.
yes but i’m sure dortmund will want from him 40+ mil pounds for him, which i doubt wenger will splash so much money for him when we have alexis for 30 which is much better than reus at the moment and don’t forget that he is injury prone, i would rather whenger spend 40-50 mil for pogba then reus, if walcott in the end leaves i would like lacazzete or sterling, i would agree with reus if they decide to sell him for 35 mil.
You only get to buy a player like Reus or Pogba if you are their ideal choice. It is completely irrelevant whether such players are our ideal choice, All this talk of “I’d let Walcott go if we get Reus in” etc etc is pointless wishful thinking. They will still choose Barca, Real, Bayern Munich, City, Chelsea, perhaps United and PSG before us because those are seen as being the big teams in Europe by the top players (Vast funds of money do colour the view of footballers). It will take a sustained run of winning the PL and/or CLs… Read more »
In today’s market that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna leave. I feel like a common tactic is to sign a new contract before a club sells, so they can cash in big time when a buyer comes. I’m sure we’ve done it a few times. Also, considering how bad Dortmund have been this season, I’m sure a few will be jumping ship
Theo better play his cards right or he’ll be playing for some midtable team this time next year.
could see United going for him
Exactly.
When he signed last time Arsenal were in a situation where we had to make a point. Losing another one of our “stars” would have been too much. His reps knew that and got a fantastic contract out of it. The situation is different now and he is replaceable and by players already in our squad. Ox, Alexis, Wellbeck, Gnarby… He will have to take a pay cut to stay and none of us would do that. If we do sell him, it would be best for us and England if he went overseas but his technique is a bit… Read more »
ahhhh, Pippo Inzaghi, one of the most successful players ever to be hated by me. Dunno what it is, maybe his lack of technique but his immense luck in front of goal… Like I have written before, I think Theo might be a goner and I don’t mind. I aggree that we have enough competition amongst the squad to not have to offer Theo a huge wage. It won’t be enough for him, but he will develop at another team, just not with us. Times are a changing. Thanks Theo, if you have to go its for the better. I… Read more »
I like Theo, his qualities definitely give us something, but the squad has certainly outgrown him. Add to that his seemingly excessive demands, his inability to defend, it looks like this is the time we should cash in on him. Surely we mustn’t sell him to one of our immediate rivals, but at this age he’s not going to improve, nor he’s going to get any quicker. We also have players who can play his role and let’s not forget about the likes of Gnabry who have at least as much potential as Theo. It took Walcott many years just… Read more »
“Are there talks? Or talks about talks? Maybe they’re having talks to decide whether or not to have talks about having talk”
Epic. I literally rolled on the floor laughing. I love Arseblog
I think we should keep him and come up with a reasonable deal. When he’s been on it an fit I think he’s a savage have always believed that he could hit a great run get some confidence an shut his doubters up, An I know he has so many poor moments but he really hasnt had a long enough stretch free from injury to get going enough to meet his full potential. I think keep the lad make a reasonable dealwithout him bending us over an he will prove a lot of people wrong.
Yes.
It’s spelt and
L’OL? L’Olympique de Lyon? Theo is going to Lyon? Revelation by blogs!
I also thought that was a subliminal message
I was at the open training session at the Emirates before last season – it was about 2 weeks before we signed Ozil. Theo was centre stage the whole time from a marketing point of view. He had become the main man, not necessarily through what he did on the pitch but through his marketability. They even had Theo masks being worn by other players. Young, English, clean cut – all the kids lapped it up. 18 months later and not only is he surplus to requirements on the pitch he had also been replaced off the pitch with the… Read more »
Spot on. Quite how such a limited footballer could become so marketable is do etching if a mystery in itself. Then again I suppose that’s the “magic” the marketing types produce.
Walcott was our top scorer with over 20 goals two seasons ago. Last season he was mostly injured, but managed to score in pretty much every single game he played in a brief spell of good health in the middle of the season if I remember correctly. This season he’s again been out injured most of the season.
Between being a really effective goal scorer and being injured, how did everyone suddenly decide he’s not that good?
Because: 1. There’s players within the squad that can replace him in the future (Gnabry, Welbeck) or offer pace, versatility and technique (OX) and can replace him right away. 2. If we sell him and with that money we can buy an upgrade ala Reus, Draxler, Griezman, why not?
Theo is a better finisher than Welbeck, Gnabry & Ox and the players you mentioned are just a dream. Welbecks return in goals in not that good 8 goals in 30 games compared to Theo who has 3 in 13, Ox 3 in 35 games.
We already have players Capable of scoring, Giroud, Alexis, Ramey if he find the form again, Santi, etc. Ox Offers similar things than what Walcott Offer (a little less pace and not much of a goalscoring treat) but he also offer way better techinque, Versatility (as much as theo thinks he can be a Striker, the times he has played there werent promising at all, he is just a Winger who can get into goal scoring positions due to the pace, while OX can play in both Wings, CM, and would say even AM), Strenght and if that goal against… Read more »
8 in 30 is 1 goal every 3.75 games (Welbeck)
3 in 13 is 1 goal every 4.33 games (Walcott)
3 in 35 is 1 goal every 11.66 games (Ox)
Ergo, Welbeck scores his goals at a faster rate than Walcott or Ox. If goals scored per games is your criterai then this is actually an argument for keeping Welbeck, using Walcott as his backup, and selling Ox.
I dont think it’s a belief that he’s not that good anymore. The question I believe is whether or not Theo deserves what he think he does, and if the club has outgrown his gamesmanship. I don’t think many question the added dimensions he gives to the team with his pace and movement, but the team has developed in a way that can cope– in fact thrive, without walcott. His self-perception does not always reflect the ends he produces. At the end of the day the club has to be bigger than any one man.
spot on!
We don’t know there’s any gamesmanship going on though. It might just be a case of him wanting to show what he can do the rest of the season before discussing a potential new deal.
So we skip the negotiations and go straight to selling him to show him we’re bigger than he is?
keep Wolcott. His finishing and runs are much better than welbeck and ox. He has scored more goals to game ratio despite his very limited no of appearance compared to this two and realistically the only alternative through the middle. He is just coming back from a prolonged injury. Give him time remember Rvp to Man u. we don’t have to make the same mistake again.
welise bwian!
I think comes from how much you put into the game as a whole and theo can only run in a forward direction. His defending/covering back is woeful.
Funny, but I could have sworn that Wenger had suggested Walcott was finally starting to add defence to his game. Did I dream that? I think Walcott is capable of further development, given a bit of direction and a run in a team, and I am worried that it will happen faster if he leaves for somebody like Liverpool (because he’ll be keen to become a legend there). I can see him making us pay every time he plays against us if we let him go to another PL club, whoever they might be. Worst case scenario would be if… Read more »
Theo is a decent player with pace to burn but he is not exceptional. We have seen him grow over the years with a little improvement. He can run behind the defenders but he still have a lot to prove if he really wants a better contract if he thinks he deserves it. With the current squad i think we can let him go and hardly notice if he ever played for Arsenal. If i was the manager, i would sell him and use the money to buy another a well developed midfielder like Marco Reus. What can you do… Read more »
To be honest Theo was never anything special was he? For large parts of his career he never even looked like a footballer. The only thing he has going for him is his pace which we already find (to a slightly lesser degree) in Gnabry, Chamberlain & Campbell who all have more potential, skill & flair than Theo. Those three on the right & Welbeck, Sanchez & sometimes Ozil or Cazorla on the left means we need a young hungry goalscorer to deputise Giroud in the striking department. Send Theo packing & bring in a young accomplished striker would be… Read more »
Goals win you a game. if you admit that mathematical axiom then Theo is even more useful to Arsenal than Chamberlain and I looove Chamberlain. Theo scored three playing badly after his return from injury.
Yeeees, but it isn’t that simple, is it?
If goals win us matches I still wonder why we left Poldi go, why we keep Welbeck when his end product is lacking, and why Sanogo was over Poldi
You “goals” people!
With you in charge we would be losing 5-4 every game!
Or maybe beating the likes of monaco at UCL
Wha? Defensive fuckups lost the first match.
It’s a shame in this day and age you cannot believe anything you read or hear in the press. If we can keep Walcott at a reasonable salary then great, but if not we should be able to get a good price for him this Summer and put it towards a more versatile player. We are in a far strong negotiating place than we were last time he was restructured.
I still believe in Theo. He’s been very unfortunate with the injuries. I hoe he signs new contract soon. And no 1 or 2 year extension. 5 years.
Theo’s first three years at Arsenal were spoiled by a shoulder problem he had. I would accept his late development. About the money issue, City gave Adebayor almost triple his salary at Arsenal. What do you expect other players to attempt when they are renewing their contracts ? When comes time to renew Koscielny again, you will see how difficult it will be as lot of teams will have plenty of money for him.
Or we could think back to last season when we said we were going to give Koscielny a contract, and then he signed that contract and we swiftly moved on.
All these injuries will make him slower. Sell.
All this talk of talks is confusing. I wish everybody would stop talking for a bit.
Walcott’s strength is his speed to the ball. He has improved on his touch and use of the ball. I don’t think he shirks from defensive contribution either. The issue he may have is tactical. Over the course of a game, he gets himself into very dangerous positions but he may not contribute enough into bringing others into the game as yet. If he can do that, he will be more effective overall for the team as a whole. Even so, he is a dangerous asset to have if he can put away the sort of chances he creates for… Read more »
Personally I think we need to keep him and that is not just because I named my son after him five months ago. He’ s still fighting his wAy back from a terrible injury so it’s not fair to judge him on a few average recent performances. Looking for a big finish to the season from theo particularly in the fa cup semi where I see him notching four in the first half.
He’s crap in front of goal…..has not developed as much as he should have, I know about the injuries, but fuck him, overrated footballer believing all the hype…
Peeps be so keen on player hating feo.. it makes me sad 🙁
Its super unfortunate yeah. He’s really done very little to deserve such hate. It comes down to people having their favorites and bigging them up or putting them down. There’s very little objectivity around any more. And Blogs doesn’t help with this kind of an article either really.. anything to get Theo out though. Somehow.
AW hardly contradicted anything. For what its worth, I don’t think either party is lying.
I don’t think that’s true, mate. People are not hating him, they just don’t mind that much if he goes. We are realistic, which means his wage demands will probably be too high considering his role in the team. Plus, Theo himself will probably want a change. These are speculations though. At the end of the day its interlull, so everybody wants a bit of banter. I aggree, both parties are not lying.
In my opinion only 3 players are capable of scoring 20 goals a season in our team…1. Alexis 2.walcott. 3. Giroud. Welbeck and ox while technically superior, lack Theo’s finishing.
He is not good enough at:
Scoring with time in front of goal.
Passing.
Tackling.
Tackling back.
Being involved for long periods of time.
Improving his game.
Not “Theo hating” (he’s a nice chap) just saying it, as it is, imho.
WILL
It’s quite obvious aunaslly
Tablecll cellsec winger ‘green light’
“Personally I would like to keep him
Sorry guys..I think he will be replaced
What?
The thing that seems to escape most people is that he’s not that good and never has been.
Technique and football intelligence always let him down, so if he goes he goes… take the money and put it towards someone better.
We also have ox, who is quick too, has better technique, more inteligence, more power and is younger with great potential. Walcott is no big loss
There are not many players who can get you 20+ goals from the wing a season. He has become one dimensional (doesn’t seem to want to take anyone on these days), but ultimately the game is decided by goals and I can’t see anyone in the squad we have now replicating those goals from out wide on the right. If we judged him by the times when he has been fit and playing regularly he is very hard player to replace. He has been crap since coming back from injury which is making some people more keen to get rid… Read more »
One of the few sensible comments on here. 20+ goals from the wing is a huge benefit as well as the assists he produces. Walcott suffers from the fact that he’s not a dribbler like the others in his position and so he doesn’t come deep to get the ball and this in turn makes him less eye catching. But on the other side he has far better movement with his runs off the ball than virtually anybody in the squad. It’s also why he always has chances per game when someone like the Ox, quality player that he is,… Read more »