Theo Walcott has still not signed a contract extension with Arsenal despite him being just one day away from being able to leave at the end of the season for nothing, but Arsene Wenger insists that he has not pressured the England international to come to an agreement immediately.
Wenger said a few years ago after Mathieu Flamini left for free that he would never let this situation happen again, but perhaps after already losing Robin Van Persie and Alex Song, he couldn’t bear to lose yet another top Arsenal player this summer.
Wenger also revealed that it was financial differences which were holding back an agreement with Walcott. Wenger said: “There was never a hard-line approach with Theo, it was always a soft-line approach, but with respect to our wage structure.
“If we don’t respect our wage structure, we will go nowhere. We always wanted him to stay, and we still want it now.”
Wenger also seems certain that the lack of agreement will not affect walcott’s commitment to the team, although he vers from being “confident” Theo will sign, to being “hopeful” and then “difficult to predict” in the space of three sentences!
“Theo is focused in training and what happens at the end of the season, happens as the end of the season.
“He’s been fantastic, showing 100% commitment. He loves the club, so maybe we can find an agreement.
“I’m confident Theo will sign. He’s 23, is English, lives 10 minutes from here, so hopefully we can reach an agreement.
“But at the moment it’s difficult to predict what we will do.
“I don’t know what will happen in January, I’m worried more about Sunday’s game with Liverpool.
“Theo’s developing very well. He’s intelligent and is a good finisher.
“Yes it would be a frustration if he left, but we’re not there yet.”
I am wondering why either side would think that an agreement will be reached during the season, when it is clear that the difference in wage expectations couldn’t be agreed in the last month. Certainly Walcott will get a better deal somewhere else next summer if he leaves as a free agent next summer…..
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