For the second time in a month Theo Walcott has been linked with a £25m move to West Ham.
The 27 year has apparently ‘grown frustrated’ with his lack of first team opportunities at Arsenal, and with the signing of Jamie Vardy imminent, the club are willing to listen to offers for Walcott.
Last month the story was carried in The Sun, and today’s report from James Olley in the Evening Standard adds more fuel to this particular fire. As a journalist very much on the Arsenal beat his information is usually spot on.
Walcott and Vardy share the same agents, so there’s undoubtedly some behind the scenes knowledge of how the arrival of the Leicester man might impact on Walcott’s playing time next season or, indeed, Arsene Wenger’s plans for him.
His departure this summer would be unsurprising anyway, having become very much a bit-part player in the second half of the season, and scoring just 9 goals in 44 appearances in the duration of the campaign.
West Ham are flush with cash and have a brand new higher capacity stadium having left Upton Park for the Olympic stadium. Their board have spoken openly about big spending this summer, and it’s a deal which makes sense for both them and the player.
We’re giving this one a three on the Poo-o-Meter.
WHERE IS THE POO EMOJI?!?!?!
ADDED NOW!
It’s still not there..
Yep still not there….
I can see it. No, wait that’s actual poo
*taxi*
Constipated.
Constiception
Oh please can he go? I’ll drive him there for free. No charge for me old mate Theo, guv. The Olympic Stadium? No worries. Minicab not good enough, I’ll buy the Merc that takes you there for the amount it will save me in burst blood vessels. Makes one does wonder for the sanity of the human race if West Ham are genuinely after him. Slaven to the Rhythmn? Ten years of inconsequentialism, if such a word exists, with the odd little foray up, but not down, the right flank. Theo never really did the down part having, I regret… Read more »
So to sum up, you would be sorry to see him leave?
Theo doesn’t need your Merc. He drives a Ferrari 458. I wish Theo a team like Chelsea where he won’t be starting XI but may blend in they style of play but do we sell to direct competition ?
Out of curiosity do you celebrate when he scores? Not an important goal that would win us points. But maybe one when where a couple goals up and cruising.
If West Ham just admitted that Vardy’s price was too high. I doubt they can afford Theo and his Salary
It all sounds a bit fishy to me really. But truth be told, West Ham is right about at Theo’s level.
I hope he goes this summer. The little feeling of sentiment I had for him well and truly died when I had travelled up to Manchester on a huge hangover to watch him touch the ball about 4 times, help give away a goal by losing the ball in truly moronic circumstances, and essentially jog about. I genuinely believe the reason he has lasted this long at Arsenal is due to his injury record, because had he of been fit, it would of become apparent a lot earlier in his career that he is no way near good enough to… Read more »
Benjen Stark wouldn’t believe this. “Theo’s leaving? Ned is dead?”
Good luck to him.
Yes ! I second that. And I am by no means his greatest fan in fact I was incandescent with rage at his non performance at OT in that crucial game. But this is clearly something that is in the interest of all parties. If he can put the injuries behind him – IF ! – and get a run of games going, he could find much better form.
He won’t get this sitting on his arse on our bench with five minutes here and there. It’s in everyones interest that he moves on.
It’s not my fault he didn’t perform at OT.
Or was it?
Hahaha Rage you funny cunt. Well played
Make it so.
But what about the poo?!
As much as I would have loved to say, “good riddance”, I cannot help but remember a few special moments with Theo in an Arsenal shit. If he leaves, a part of me will always feel sad seeing him in another shirt. Oh well…
Haha… Fuck me! Meant to say, ‘in an Arsenal SHIRT’.
no apologies required by me, though I understand it’s a typo pal, …….because some, myself included, thinks there are quite a few times that Theo ‘did’ put us in an ‘arsenal shit’ with his performance when he came on!
Indsed, you could almost call it a tyPOO.
I’ll get my coat.
I agree. He’s an Arsenal man for me and the emotional part of me would like to see him get anothern season – at least so he can leave on a high.
Ah well, if he goes it shows his desire to stay and really fight for his legacy is limited
Leave on a high lol
When has Walcott ever shown a desire to stay and fight? He just minces around the pitch doing fuck all.
The fantastical sum of money he negotiated himself to has been his undoing. Had he been on Ox money or thereabouts at least I wouldn’t have an issue with keeping him on as an impact sub. But for 140 grand a week? No fucking way!
I wish him well at WH if that’s where he goes.
I was hoping the “in an arsenal shirt” was to replace “in another shirt”
please lets not start with this. of course no matter what you think of theo, after 10 years there must be one or two special memories of him. But lets not start with hyping up a player cos he might be leaving. Arsenal fans do this a lot with players that are not up to par, they get nostalgic and next thing he becomes one of the greatest players again in their minds. We need to be more ruthless in moving on from players that are not of the required quality to win titles, this is what i feel has… Read more »
So true. We love doing this when a player gets injured for a while too. They become the saviour who the team needs to click.
Abou, anyone?!
But, but… did you see his game against Liverpool?
Relax! Where exactly did I hype him or imply he is a great player? You also admitted in your statement above that there are indeed some special memories of him.
So what’s the issue?
Chill homey.
I don’t understand how some fans want us to treat players ruthlessly as mere commodities, then cry when players like Van Persie treat the club ruthlessly.
He wasn’t saying he’s sad to see him go because he’s amazing, but after 10 years of hype and watching a player, you do get attached to them. Even worse when said player fails to live up to expectation.
As I said, if you want to treat players ruthlessly then fine, but don’t become a whiney emotional bitch when players do the same to us.
We’re just being human, tis all.
Well said. Me, I will never forget that CL quater final at Liverpool. Theo’s speed and dribbles across the field was one of the top 5 Arsenal finest moves. Yes sir, top 5. He hasn’t done anything close to that for years but still great stuff.
And the penalty Kolo conceded about 30 seconds later -.-
Wise up. Pure pants from day one
Yep, I’d agree with that, Serendipity. I don’t think he merits a place in the squad, but there’s no animosity from me. He’s always handled himself well in public and with fans, he’s scored a few great goals, and who can forget the two-nil gesture to the Tottenham fans?
But we should be looking at an upgrade for his position. Good luck to him at West Ham. I think he’d suit them well, and I think it will be good for his form as well. Plus he can link up with his former teammate, Havard Nordtveit!
Buy Vardy for around 25m. Sell Walcott for around 25m. This would be truly amazing business from us.
It would be better if we can swap him for Mahrez.
I would happily swap him for a bag of sweets. Get his massive wages off the payroll.
It’s such a shame his Arsenal career never quite reached the heights we’d hoped. Definitely feels like the right time for him to move. He’s frustrated at his lack of playing time, while we’re all frustrated (Wenger included) when he gets playing time. Hopefully this can be a good move for both parties.
I still rate Walcott the forward on a similar level to Vardy – pace, movement, finishing.
However it’s the Walcott on the right that can be improved by a distance. So, hope it’s the arrival of Mahrez or Miktarian for that right side position that makes Walcott leave.
The difference between Walcott and Vardy is the fight, aggression and bastardness that Vardy has. Walcott is too nice and can be effective when things are going right but too often goes missing when things are not. If he could pick up some of that from Vardy that would be good.
Is “bastardness” an actual word? Can i use it in my up-coming school speech?
Walcott just doesn’t have the killer instinct to make any real impact. Although the Vardy signing worried me at first with his age, there is something of the playing nastiness and desperation to win like Ian Wright that Walcott will never have.
Strictly in the name of science i’d be interested in Theo joining the chavs but only as i’m curious as to whether such a nice guy as Theo could be Chelseaed into being an utter cnut by them.
I agree with poly and karl: The ingredients may be similar, but the pure aggression makes Vardy a different player. Matches rarely pass him by, simply because he’s so intense in everything he does. He’ll fight for every ball and run his shirt off if need be. Walcott definitely has the potential to do the same, and could probably even be better, but he just doesn’t appear to have the guts.
England matches pass him by when he’s played on the right.
I find it really funny how West ham announce they have 30mil to spend on a striker….and so far everyone they have bidded for has been rejected…because they all know they’re flush with money. See now a club with a bit of class and knowhow (Arsenal), prove again how business should be done, not in public and cards close to chest….or a wry smile 😉
And now for their troubles, Walcott could be there marquee signing. Well good luck.
Bye Theo
Changes in midfield, changes upfront, we’ll have to see how it pans out but I like it! Bringing in exciting midfield talent, a proven goal scorer, both players with plenty of bite and possibly getting rid of players that did not bring what they should (I won’t go so far as to calling theo dead wood, still like him too much for sticking it to spurs from a stretcher…), it’s all shaping up nicely and al before the euros even get started. Now to get someone to boss defence with the Boss and our entire spine has been revamped…
Spot on FMG. It is lazy to pick on Theo alone, but he just sticks out as the poster boy for everything that has been wrong about the attitude of the club. A move for him would be good for all parties, as things have gone too far.
Such an inconsistent player but over time he has fallen short more than he has moved forward so we are right to get rid.
He won’t go anywhere… He is a fighter and we will need him in those busy schedules in December… Plus he is a gooner… A little confused regarding his playing position , I must say . But his speed is an asset to arsenal … He will come back strong and I would love to see him play so good that wenger becomes helpless to put alexis on bench .
I thought he was a Liverpool supporter.
those pipe dreams are amazing, eh?
I believe it is you who will be needing him:)
Theo has one or two good games then about 10 games after where he is hardly noticeable or plays a bad game. Good memories of some of his goals but £25m for Theo is too good to let up. Although this is only rumours for the figure, I can see him leaving this summer.
Theo should be on a rolling weekly contract as he’s only been really good when his contract comes up for renewal, a player who needs a carrot dangled in front him to perform
Just like a donkey.
Theo moving on is the most sensible move for both the club and the player himself.
It is high time he leaves.
What he could have become, he never became and now it is better for us as a club to move on and look out for a better player.
Where ever he goes, I wish him well.
Thanks for the Ten long years, Theo.
Adios.
Now let us go and get Mkhitaryan.
Onwards and Upwards.
Now after this let us move Mertesacker out as well and get another player . Not that I have anything against him. I am stressing upon it because..as we all know our central defence is weak and has got to be adressed. Arsene being Arsene has this knack of leaving a particular area of the team unaddressed every season and hence that culminating to our downfall. And this season I simply don’t want any stone left unturned. Enough of all the sentiments we have carried over these years. Let us get a bit ruthless and concentrate on nothing but winning… Read more »
why move of the few exprienced defenders out. I still rate him more than a error prone Gabriel. add a capable centre back and loaning Chambers makes more sense.
Sentiment is an important part of being a Gooner. Without sentiment you’re merely a follower of the team, like most Chelsea “fans”.
Bro we have had too much of these sentiments and that has already hurt us quite a few times over these past few seasons. Just like carrying on with Arteta, Rozza and Flamini last year, hurt us big time last season. Arteta himself accepted it, that he stayed one year more than he actually should have… and Rozza didn’t even look all that happy in the end did he? After having to go through.. all that he did… Too much sentiments just makes you stupid mate and nothing else. And as for as Chambers is concerned, I wouldn’t personally loan… Read more »
What a dilemma for Walcott; his agent will want him to move, for the commission, but he’s a greedy little git and he’s not done enough to persuade anyone else to match £140,000 /week for his “services”.
I’ll be sad to see him leave for sure, it’ll be weird seeing him in anything but an Arsenal kit, but I reckon it’s about time we started being ruthless as a club. He hasn’t done enough, he’s got to go. Besides, that’s 25 mil + 140k a week wages freed up. Hope we can get that lethal Mahrez/Vardy duo – that’ll be incredible.
I will miss Walcott for his player ratings on Arseblog! Always amusing. But yes, he’s got to go. He’s completely bereft of confidence right now, and he needs a change a scenery to get it back. We can do better.
make Arsenal great again
Aresenal are already Great.
but man was he promising as a 19 year old tearing a whole Liverpool team apart. all downwards after…
If we’re switching formation to 4-4-2 this makes very little sense. Walcott playing off someone like Giroud as a Vardy or A.N. Other backup would work.
If the system stays the same, I can understand it. Same reason AW let Podolski go I guess.
Reading Amy Lawrence’s ‘Invincible’ (yes I am behind time), and there’s a bit about Wenger telling Ljungberg he wants him on the wing when Freddie had been playing in the no 10 role his whole career up to that point and had to effectively learn how to football again from scratch.
Now compare what Freddie achieved with his 9 years with us and Theo’s 10.
So basically trade Walcott for Vardy. Makes sense. Now sign Mkhitaryan.
I was certain Theo Would stay at Arsenal into his 30s because of Wengers loyalty to his players. But then again Wenger never stands in the way if a player wants to leave himself. But most managers would have told Theo to find a new employer a long time ago.
Anyways Good Luck to him whatever happens.
For all I care, he can sprint off to West Ham.
Good riddance if true. Theo rncapsulates the entitled,.complacent and spineless culture that has held.sway over the club since the invincibles were.disbanded. We.ve slowly been.getting rid of them
. . , .. . ,’ .
Maybe it’s just me but I hate seeing players leave. Especially Theo who has been at the club for over 10 years. I definitely think it would be the right move for him and the club but still… I’ll always remember that run of his against Liverpool in the champions league. Shame we never saw more of it
Who can forget the 2-0 gesture. Sad to see him go. But it makes sense for the club and for himself if he wants to convince Roy he deserves a spot on the plane to Russia.
I will be glad if Walcott is shipped out. We do not need all those half baked players any more. If we mean business for the coming season, we should get the real deals!
We were all calling Vardy a racist a few months ago now he’s our saviour.
Fickle fickle arsenal fans
Can he not be both?
No
You’d be surprised at how many really good players aren’t really good people. So yes, you can be both. But I think you mean, “we’re praising him where we once slated him.” And that’s far too big a generalization. If you’ve been reading the forums that last few days, you’ll see Arsenal fans are quite divided about him, in large part because of question marks over his character.
I dont read forums, because i find they attract morons who don’t know how to be civil. I think its wrong to overlook someones character once you have information about it. R Kelly is a great singer but I sure as hell am not purchasing any of his music because of what has come out about him.
Just my opinion
Well, presumably, you read this forum…and if you read through the comments sections of the various Vardy articles published the last few days, you’ll very clearly see that fans are divided. There is no such thing as this unanimous praise you mention (he’s a ‘saviour’).
I think it’s wrong to continue to castigate someone for behaviour they have since apologized for and never repeated.
Just my opinion.
“I dont read forums, because i find they attract morons who don’t know how to be civil.”
And yet here you are on this one.
I wasn’t.
I was saying “boo-urns”
YES YES YES!!!!
25m is what gives it three poos…
Make it 10m! No way is a player with Ozil behind him after 44 appearances scoring 9 goals worth 25m. He is not even half the player Campbell is.
Please please please go!! He is the global figurehead of complacency.
Time for Theo to leave. He had his chance now it’s time for Joel Campbell!
More or less no cost exchange Theo for Vardy is great business. Theo was on silly money because he negotiated well, but if you look at ozil and Sanchez, no way he is worth £140k/week.
Him leaving doesn’t have to be nasty but I think it is extremely healthy for the squad to see players being gently moved on if they don’t perform. ‘Arsenal players perform’, that’s the message, and I really like this move for all concerned
I think we should keep Theo if he agrees to move onto the new “living wage”.
For 25m, sell him and get Mikhitaryan with it. Know he’ll probably go and have a good career with west ham.
Thanks for your service. Have Fun, Theo.
Sell Walcot and get 5 million pounds and Vardy?! thats some good business there
Vardy has been “imminent” for days now. Not too sure if it will go ahead or fall through. No chance that we’ll let Theo go without a replacement lined up I think.
SIGN DA TING!!!
Obviously if Vardy comes it’s hard to see how Walcott stays.
Sullivan’s kid tweeted that they aren’t in for Walcott or The Ox….. https://twitter.com/jsullivanwhu/status/739814794677616640
It’s ok I tweeted back that Theo is really very good.
Lmao I hope you included a youtube comp?
Walcott wants to play for the Arsenal but he just can’t, poor boy ?
On my best behaviour here…good luck Theo.
With the news on Vardy going quiet, he is starting to piss me off already fucking weasel!
😉
Walcott to Mahrez or Mkhitaryan would be a huge upgrade and fantastic business, especially as Theo’s 100k+ wage can be used to someone who actually performs week in week out.
I supported Theo for many years and always felt he would get over his injuries and come good, and he always did just enough, only just enough, to keep me believing. Then he signed da ting the first time and got that self-satisfied little smirk on his face, and then da ting was very short term so he needed a new one, and that’s when he really pissed me off, when he turned round and said “if it happens it happens”. It did happen, and from then on Theo has been hopeless. Theo is currently the most feeble footballer I… Read more »
This could be a good move for West Ham. I do think the criticism of certain players in our squad borders on ludicrous to the absurd. Per, Flamini and Giroud are favorite targets for whingers who do not put logic to anything they hear from media. Giroud scores 20+ goals a season for last 3 seasons. He has 24 goals 16 in the league this season. In their best seasons (scoring) for us, Walcott weighed in with 21 goals and 14 in the league. Alexis scored 25 goals 16 in the league. Why are we complaining about Giroud??? The issue… Read more »
I don’t necessarily want him sold, but for the right price I wouldn’t object too much, happy to keep him if we sign somebody or not so long as the team improves.
I really don’t understand why you think James Olleys comments are any more likely than any of the other ‘hacks’. He’s gets plenty wrong just like John Cross.