Theo Walcott

BBC Sport's David Ornstein has the latest on Theo Walcott's contract negotiations at Arsenal: "There is plenty of speculation that Theo Walcott is about to end the uncertainty surrounding his future by signing a new contract with Arsenal. This may well happen at some stage but, as things stand, it is not true.
"Reports on Wednesday claimed the Gunners will offer Walcott a new five-year deal worth £25m, including a £90,000-a-week salary topped up by a signing on fee of around £3m. Should this offer materialise, there is a good chance the impasse between the 23-year-old and his club could soon be breached."

"Despite suggestions to the contrary, there have been no formal talks between Arsenal and Walcott's representatives since August, when he rejected a fresh five-year contract worth £75,000-a-week (he currently earns £60,000-a-week). "However, his stance has softened since being given a run of starts as Arsenal's central striker and, crucially, he does not want to leave the club he joined in 2006. Arsenal are increasingly confident he will extend his stay at Emirates Stadium. "Now that the footballing issues have been resolved, if a compromise can be reached on his salary and image rights, it is likely Walcott will sign a new contract. His representatives are expecting Arsenal to call them to the negotiating table in the coming days and, provided a suitable offer is made, this seemingly never ending saga could finally be put to bed."

In footballing circles, the Christmas period is always talked about as being unusually hectic. In reality, when one glimpses the eight games Arsenal (potentially) stand to play between January 1st and February 2nd, that impression retards somewhat. As international football has increasingly interfered with the schedule, there is rarely true respite in the calendar.

Arsene has shown a reluctance to rotate over the festive period (just what did Tomas Rosicky do to Arsene Wenger?) but he’ll be left with little choice now. I hope that doesn’t translate into putting the F.A. Cup onto the backburner. Clubs that regularly compete in the Champions League do have a more congested fixture list to contend with; but the financial rewards are made available precisely so that you can stock your squad to cope.

This time last year, my main seed of doubt with regards to Tottenham’s lead over us in the table regarded Redknapp’s lack of rotation. I always felt confident ‘Arry would run them into the ground (I can’t say I was necessarily as confident that we would be in a position to take advantage, mind). Especially as older players such as Gallas, Parker, King and Friedel – allied with puzzling additions of Saha and Nelsen – made up a significant amount of the petrol in their tank.

Put bluntly, I don’t see that potential fragility in Spurs now, with whom we are surely to grapple for a top 4 spot again. Their physical artillery is no longer weighed down with a reliance on old limbs. Now, I see the potential for burnout in Arsenal players as a far more likely scenario. Add in the fact that we play Spurs away in the second half of the season, whereas we were pinning our hopes on an upcoming home game against them this time last year.

Santi Cazorla practically has smoke billowing out of his bonnet. Sagna (who was reported injured prior to the Bradford game but played regardless and has completed every minute of each subsequent game) and Arteta both made errors on Sunday which could be attributed to mental fatigue at the very least. It isn’t solely miles on the clock that is causing fatigue for some of the aforementioned.

When Theo plays as a kind of right winger-cum-striker as he did on Sunday, there is a knock on effect. It places an enormous amount of pressure on Bacary Sagna to cover the entire flank both offensively and defensively. I think that really told at Swansea – countless times he was forced to turn inside or back towards goal with no passing option available.

You may recall that Swansea scored their second goal at the Grove in December by hassling Jenkinson on the right flank, with Walcott tucked in and offering no get out. But also I think the idea is that Cazorla drifts over to the right to cover from an attacking point of view. This places extra pressure on a player already running on empty. But it also denies the team some of its most valuable partnerships.

Earlier in the season, Cazorla and Podolski used to combine so frequently, it was a wonder that they weren’t just given their own ball to play with. With Cazorla needing to pull to the right, the umbilical cord between the two is cut. The idea is possibly for Wilshere to bridge that gap and supply the left hand side. In fairness, he did so very well in the second half against Swansea. But Jack is in the “fetch and carry” mould, so it still robs a little fluency from our play for my liking.

We have ourselves a game of tactical whack-a-mole here. When one band aid is applied to one area of the pitch, it is ripped from a scabby knee elsewhere, exposing a fresh wound. In asking Jack and Cazorla to attend to other areas, the upshot is that Arteta is isolated from both of his midfield amigos. This is why Chamberlain is the preferred choice on the right in spite of some rather average form this season. In lieu of Walcott wanting to be a winger, The Ox is now the only option that balances the team.

I think perhaps this is one of the reasons Wenger is loath to rotate. There is certainly an issue with members of the squad that he doesn’t trust. But most of the offending driftwood seems to be walking the plank overboard this month. There are those that he does seem to trust: Coquelin, Jenkinson, and Rosicky who still aren’t being used. I think the manager wants to try and keep as regular a selection as possible in order to foment the understanding that has eluded the team.

Noise seems to be percolating that Theo Walcott has won his stand-off with the club over terms and that he will sign imminently. That being the case, I hope once he signs, we’re less tempted to pander to his ego at the expense of the team. The “winger-cum-striker” (or “winger-cum-hole”?) experiment doesn’t work for the collective. It places too much pressure on overworked teammates whilst he plays “TJ the superstar centre forward.”

There was another incident on Sunday when Walcott had gone down nursing a boo-boo on the bonce. Given that it was the 91st minute and time was at a premium, Arteta rushed over to take the corner we had been awarded. Arteta is a fine and trusted deliverer of set pieces. But no, Theo decided he had to trot over and definitely had to take it himself. Personally, I’d like to have seen Arteta – our captain on the day no less – bare teeth and tell him to fuck right off.

I don’t want to seem like I’ve got an agenda against Walcott. Theo staying would definitely be A Good Thing. But I do rather wonder if it would be A Good Thing because it would arrest the annual exodus of first team players, rather than because I think Walcott to be a genuinely world class player. I think the importance would be weighted with what Theo signing represents over and above his actual importance to the side. (Though he is important, clearly).

This piece on Football365 last week worded it rather chillingly. “Has he [Walcott] finally developed to the standard required to play for Arsenal, or have Arsenal dropped to the standard of Theo Walcott?” Arsenal are having issues with balance which Walcott needs to conform with. I do rather suspect this contract situation has been allowed to obstruct that as we have pandered to his positional fancies.

However, there were some real positives at Swansea. Even if we are showing a worrying proclivity towards conceding goals straight after we’ve scored them. We were able to pick up the tempo of our play in the second half. At half time, I did suspect the game would peter out in the same manner other such away matches have done this year. But on this occasion, we managed to grip the game by the short and curlies.

Certainly in an attacking sense, we played with much more purpose. The substitution that brought Podolski into the fray demonstrated the value of having a good forward option on the bench. Lukas is often accused of drifting in and out of games, but we were troubling Swansea when he came into the game. We put our best finisher on at a time when we were creating goalscoring opportunities and it paid gold.

It’s indicative of the surgery that Arsene really needs to perform in January. Both to purchase greater firepower and to balance the team. I wrote this piece on the August transfer deadline day which I really could have just cut and pasted and posted for this week’s offering. Time to get busy Arsene. Till next week. LD.

http://arseblog.com/2013/01/snarling-short-and-curlies/

Thought this had a lot to do with Theo!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21078962

Well there you go, he's signed. I won't be 100% sure of this until I see it on the official website but this is as reliable as it gets for now.

Now the club need to shut up about sorting this out and concentrate on transfers (not that I ever really believed that stupid excuse of sorting this out before anything else. You'd think a club the size of Arsenal would be capable of performing more than one task at a time).

Yes, apparently he's signed the contract. I'd say it's good news, but this ego thing has to stop. He should NOT be taking free kicks when we have Arteta and Santi in the team.

Theo Walcott has agreed a new contract with Arsenal worth £100,000 a week.

The deal ends protracted negotiations with Arsenal during which the England international was linked with moves to Liverpool and both Manchester clubs and includes a £3m signing-on fee on top of a salary that makes him the highest earner at the club.

He is so lucky to get so much money. Is he the highest paid Arsenal player now? Bloody hell, to which levels have we dropped down.

Contract is only 3 and a half years though, he probably didnt want too long to see if we actually start winning in that time... or we could be looking to see if he lives up to his potential with this shorter contact... but fact of the matter is if he does well then we'll have to be looking for another extention at the end of next season which is kind of bullshit...

I don't see him staying beyond the expiration of this new contract.

The club gave in to his demands because we are in quite a tight spot right now.

In another 3 and a half year's time, we should be too good for him - he should not have more than a bit part role - unless he improves dramatically. On the other hand, if we don't make any progress, he might be too good for us.

There are no losers in this case.

meh.

Official on the Arsenal Website

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/theo-walcott-signs-new-long-term-contract

Pleased about this. Walcott is a good player and it shows the players, the fans and other teams that Arsenal can keep important players at the club.

Come on guys everyone was calling for this and we should be happy, look at it as the big picture, thats 6 young british players signing new contracts. Its a good thing and gives us a platform to push from, its certainly better than the last several years of losing our top players season on season. I think he can score 20 a season playing both in the middle and wide right sometimes as well. Thats solid numbers, he will never be top top class but he is effective against 90% of teams.

I just hope he puts his head down and gets to work. His attitude and application have both been shit lately.

He now needs to justify that 100k a week.....if he doesn't step up....it won't be pretty....

If I was Wenger I would play him on the right side of the attack again against Chelsea with Cazorla left and Giroud central.

This team should be built around Wilshere and he should play as the most advanced midfielder like in the last game, he is ready, and quite frankly Cazorla hasnt done enough to have such a key role for me.

Jenks1981 wrote:If I was Wenger I would play him on the right side of the attack again against Chelsea with Cazorla left and Giroud central.

This team should be built around Wilshere and he should play as the most advanced midfielder like in the last game, he is ready, and quite frankly Cazorla hasnt done enough to have such a key role for me.

Fully agreed

Fucking awful decision. To almost double his salary without ever being a vital player in the team and constantly having patchy form.

It sends out a shocking message about the mediocrity and low standards of the team and the next time Wenger talks about us 'not being to compete', it can't possible be credible.

Also, there's no question of him 'justifying the salary', he simply doesn't have the ability to live up to it, having the quality, leadership and ability to be the top earner and top player at the club.

I think that the sad truth is that if he was anything like as good as he thinks he is (or his agent probably claims he is able to be) then he would've gone to another club because another club would've blown us out of the water with a crazy wage offer. However, they didn't, because he's simply not that good and isn't in demand. It makes a complete joke out of us, we should have been tougher and said that without performing consistently we couldn't possibly give him more than £75/80,000. Why not call his bluff? Or we'll just end up playing the agents' game all day.

The only positive seems to be that we are keeping a kind of English core together. Of the English bunch though, he has the least character and is the most delusional - bollocking players for not squaring the ball to him when he fucks up most counter-attacks, is sometimes too selfish and can't finish consistently. Oh and he doesn't help out the team defensively either despite clearly being able to run back quickly to make up for someone else who might be out of position.

Let's not kid ourselves, he will stay hear and earn every pence of this contract, because no other club is going to offer him more. Talk about poisoned chalice for the next manager, well I'm just hoping that Arsene Wenger will not be here in three and a half years, this crap simply can't continue. Awful transfer window.

Jenks1981 wrote:If I was Wenger I would play him on the right side of the attack again against Chelsea with Cazorla left and Giroud central.

This team should be built around Wilshere and he should play as the most advanced midfielder like in the last game, he is ready, and quite frankly Cazorla hasnt done enough to have such a key role for me.

Cazorla started from a wide position for Villareal and he doesn't have the defensive work to be a part of that central three over a season in truth. That should've been obvious when we signed him but AW lives in dreamland.

Wilshere should definitely be in the middle, simply because of his spark at the moment. Having Rosicky back soon would be a big help as a squad player at the very least.

John Foxall wrote:Fucking awful decision. To almost double his salary without ever being a vital player in the team and constantly having patchy form.

It sends out a shocking message about the mediocrity and low standards of the team and the next time Wenger talks about us 'not being to compete', it can't possible be credible.

Also, there's no question of him 'justifying the salary', he simply doesn't have the ability to live up to it, having the quality, leadership and ability to be the top earner and top player at the club.

I think that the sad truth is that if he was anything like as good as he thinks he is (or his agent probably claims he is able to be) then he would've gone to another club because another club would've blown us out of the water with a crazy wage offer. However, they didn't, because he's simply not that good and isn't in demand. It makes a complete joke out of us, we should have been tougher and said that without performing consistently we couldn't possibly give him more than £75/80,000. Why not call his bluff? Or we'll just end up playing the agents' game all day.

The only positive seems to be that we are keeping a kind of English core together. Of the English bunch though, he has the least character and is the most delusional - bollocking players for not squaring the ball to him when he fucks up most counter-attacks, is sometimes too selfish and can't finish consistently. Oh and he doesn't help out the team defensively either despite clearly being able to run back quickly to make up for someone else who might be out of position.

Let's not kid ourselves, he will stay hear and earn every pence of this contract, because no other club is going to offer him more. Talk about poisoned chalice for the next manager, well I'm just hoping that Arsene Wenger will not be here in three and a half years, this crap simply can't continue. Awful transfer window.

This is no fault of Wenger. The nature of the game now is that these type of players can demand these amounts of money. Players like Daniel Sturridge, Scott Sinclair, Gael Clichy are probably earning similar amounts or more. Players like James Milner or Victor Moses probably earning much more. As you suggest, I doubt Walcott is good enough to be a starting player for any of the other big clubs, but they would happily take him off our hands, pay him over 100k per week and have him on the bench as a Plan B.

I agree he has been a bit egotistical lately, but he is tied to us now so I think Wenger can handle that. In truth, he is an excellent professional. Doesn't get into trouble, rarely injured, and clearly works very hard to improve his game. His crossing has improved greatly compared to a couple of seasons ago for example.

And right now, he is our top scorer and top assister in the league, having been frozen out for much of the start of the season. He's a great finisher (still misses some like all strikers) and makes very clever runs that open up opportunities for other players. I am not sure he is inconsistent, but I think the team don't use him well in some games. In some games, the opposition employ tactics to decrease his effectiveness. I think that shows what a weapon he is. When team change their tactics for just one of our players, then it should open up opportunities for other players. Teams sitting deep should mean our attacking midfielders should get closer to goal for example.

I am happy with the signing. Losing him would have been bad for the club.

This is no fault of Wenger. The nature of the game now is that these type of players can demand these amounts of money. Players like Daniel Sturridge, Scott Sinclair, Gael Clichy are probably earning similar amounts or more. Players like James Milner or Victor Moses probably earning much more. As you suggest, I doubt Walcott is good enough to be a starting player for any of the other big clubs, but they would happily take him off our hands, pay him over 100k per week and have him on the bench as a Plan B.

I agree he has been a bit egotistical lately, but he is tied to us now so I think Wenger can handle that. In truth, he is an excellent professional. Doesn't get into trouble, rarely injured, and clearly works very hard to improve his game. His crossing has improved greatly compared to a couple of seasons ago for example.

And right now, he is our top scorer and top assister in the league, having been frozen out for much of the start of the season. He's a great finisher (still misses some like all strikers) and makes very clever runs that open up opportunities for other players. I am not sure he is inconsistent, but I think the team don't use him well in some games. In some games, the opposition employ tactics to decrease his effectiveness. I think that shows what a weapon he is. When team change their tactics for just one of our players, then it should open up opportunities for other players. Teams sitting deep should mean our attacking midfielders should get closer to goal for example.

I am happy with the signing. Losing him would have been bad for the club.[/quote]


Spot on ^^

Also calling a players bluff with wage demands is not the best of ideas so close to a window and in one...let's be honest most people slay him off..but I don't know of one person who supports other teams that would not want him...if he came up for transfer a whole host of clubs would come calling...so take a wage knowing you have been caught out or take the same if not more with a team that wants you...I know what I would do......and to justify his wage has to happen.....would a employer pay you more and not do anything if you don't start to show a return for that wage??....they would crack down big time...

Players at Man City and Chelsea are no comparison.

We can't afford to be rewarding mediocrity like we are doing with Theo.

John Foxall wrote:Players at Man City and Chelsea are no comparison.

We can't afford to be rewarding mediocrity like we are doing with Theo.

We can't compete with them on the field if we don't compete with them financially. Letting players go to clubs like this has cost us heavily in recent years.

Currently 17 starts in all comps and 17 goals, credit where credits due thats decent, scored his first winner of the season today though, needs to get more in the next 6 months.

Still wants to play down the middle. Can't see it myself.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:Still wants to play down the middle. Can't see it myself.

it wont happen...i think all the talk of him saying playing down the middle did him no favours either...not happened and not likely to....just made him look desperate if anything and to be honest since the contract being sorted there has been no real improvement in my opinion...doing well but not well enough to justify that weekly wage...

What would you say if we sold him for say 23m? I'm not a Walcott hater, but I'd be more than OK with that as he can be improved on.

Vanig Bostanian wrote:What would you say if we sold him for say 23m? I'm not a Walcott hater, but I'd be more than OK with that as he can be improved on.

I would rather get a better RW and keep Walcott of competition, impact substitutions and back up.