Arsène Wenger has suggested that he is steeled for another Theo Walcott contract saga but he believes that the climate might have shifted in Arsenal’s favour this time.
Walcott signed his last deal in January 2013, which was worth £100,000 a week over three and a half years, and it came at a time when he was in rich goalscoring form and the club were haunted by the losses of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fàbregas over the previous two summers.
Walcott agreed the contract when his old deal had entered its final six months, and after many rounds of negotiation. The clock has begun to tick again and Wenger had his tongue in his cheek when he indicated that the club had made the initial move over an extension.
“The first contacts have been established with the embassy,” Wenger said. “We will see how that progresses politically. Walcott was difficult to convince [last time] and that is why it took us much time. We started very early with him but it was slow progress. He is very quick on the pitch but off the pitch, not always.”
Walcott was ruled out for 10 months with the cruciate knee ligament rupture that he suffered in January 2014 while he missed the best part of another two months with a muscle injury and, since his return to fitness, he has started only four games in all competitions.
In the FA Cup win at Manchester United on Monday night he stripped in readiness to come on as a substitute when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain damaged his hamstring only for Wenger to introduce Aaron Ramsey. Walcott remained unused on the bench. These are frustrating times for him, with Wenger’s summer signings Alexis Sánchez and Danny Welbeck having seemingly pushed him down the pecking order. Wenger was asked whether the increased competition for places and Walcott’s lack of minutes on the field might affect the player’s decision over whether to re-sign. “Of course,” Wenger replied.
The manager, though, made it clear that Walcott had to accept the altered landscape. “I want him to stay and be a regular player and fight for his place,” Wenger said. “But no matter where you go, if it is a big club, you have to compete for your place. We went to Manchester United on Monday night – look at what they had on the bench. Look at what was sitting on the bench at Chelsea v Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. That is part of the job.
“I bought Sánchez and Welbeck because you are responsible for a club and [when] you know a player is out for a year and will not play until January, you cannot sacrifice the first six months [of the season]. Then, [Olivier] Giroud was injured [last August] and was ruled out for four months – people don’t want to know how long they will be out, they want players to play.”
West Ham have been hit with yet another injury blow before Saturday’s trip to Arsenal, with the club confirming James Tomkins has suffered a dislocated shoulder. The 25-year-old has recently signed a new, long-term contract with the Hammers but could now miss several weeks having injured his shoulder in training. He joins his fellow central defender Winston Reid on the casualty list, with Sam Allardyce also struggling for attacking options as Carlton Cole, Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia are all likely to miss out.
Valencia is a doubt having cut his toe in a freak accident after he stood on a broken teacup and now Allardyce has a selection headache at both ends of the field after the club announced Tomkins’ injury on Twitter.
“West Ham United can confirm that James Tomkins has suffered a dislocated shoulder. The 25-year-old was taken for hospital treatment and will continue to be assessed by the club’s medical staff,” they wrote. Reid has a hamstring injury, meaning James Collins is the only recognised centre-back available to Allardyce.