Does this Gunner really deserve a new deal?

Theo Walcott wants to sit down with Arsene Wenger and talk about the club’s future and ambitions before deciding whether to extend his stay at Arsenal post 2013.

There have been rumours circulating that his representatives have had informal talks with the club on the matter, but Walcott is set to hold one-on-one talks with Wenger about the situation. Arsenal sources insist talks are ongoing as they want to avoid a repeat of what happened to Nasri in the summer.

Senior club officials, Wenger and contract negotiator Richard Law, will become even more urgent with getting his signature once the window closes this January, as the Englishman’s bargaining power will be slightly reduced.

With Champions League status a bit of an uncertainty for next season, both parties are aware that there are variables in what Arsenal and Theo can offer.

Walcott would prefer to remain in the south-east of England, where he seems to have settled. However, there is a possibility that the 22-year-old could follow Joe Cole to the Ligue 1, where he will not be subjected to the same level of physical attention from defenders.

Oddly enough some of Walcott’s best performances have come against European opposition; perhaps their lack of physical contact is the main reason for this. Meanwhile, Juventus are rumoured to be leading a queue of admirers from Italy and Spain for Walcott’s signature.

Walcott’s career at the Emirates hasn’t been exactly what you would want to write home about. A succession of injuries, lack of physical aspect to his game and a lack of confidence are the main reasons for this, but he does show some signs of brilliance on occasions, the same ones that led Wenger to sign him from Southampton in January 2006 from Southampton.

In my honest opinion, Wenger has too much belief in Theo. Even when he underperforms in consecutive games he still gets in the team.

He’s weak on the ball, a terrible finisher in the box, and for one reason or another he seems afraid to shoot when he’s clear on goal, preferring to pass to his team-mate, which has often killed us at times. No matter what we say every season, ‘oh Walcott’s getting better’, he will always seem to start reverting to his old ways. So what if he sometimes scores and assists on occasions – his overall season performance is not something you would expect from a player who is so highly spoken of.

Theo hasn’t lived up to what I thought he could achieve when he arrived. Moments of brilliance in a few games is what we expect from him on a regular basis, not inconsistency – not one good game and then four bad ones.

So does he deserve a new contract? I say no, let him go. Cash in on him and let Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain take his role as he is a better all round player than him. Theo has had his chances; he isn’t consistent enough and barely gets past defenders who are physical towards him. His pace is his only asset, which he doesn’t utilize to full effect anyway. He is certainly not worth the estimated £100k-a-week contract that the Metro claims Theo is seeking.

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