Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes Theo Walcott must focus solely on his football rather than chase a big-money contract.
The 23-year-old has been the topic of discussion since the summer departure of Robin van Persie, but Arsene Wenger somehow managed to keep hold of the winger, who has yet to start a match this season.
Parlour had this to say on the matter:
‘Everyone wants to see Theo Walcott sign a new contract, He’s got a lot of work to do on the pitch though and, at the moment, he’s not playing. He’s a good player, but he needs to say whether he’s staying or he’s going and then concentrate on his football.’
I think Ray has hit the nail on the head here – I don’t think Walcott has been focused on his football, as I am sure Wenger has his reasons for not starting him so far this season. It seems to me there is more going on behind the scenes than we actually know.
Parlour is under no disillusion as to how hard it is to manage contract talks when they are high-profile players at the club:
‘All these contract talks can sometimes affect your game. He’s probably thinking more about money and less about his game. It’s one of those situations where the player has got to be happy with what he’s got.
‘I can never understand these wrangles over contracts. Sure you have a figure in your head which you’re happy with and once that’s been agreed then it’s done.
‘Whether Theo is holding his cards close to his chest and saying, ‘well, I’ve got one year left on my contract, I want £100,000 a week’, I don’t know.’
There is a lot to be said about how Wenger has handled our players this season, as he has developed this no-nonsense approach, and players who would normally start have been benched due to unrest and causing problems at the club. With this in mind, it remains to be seen how Arsene handles Bacary Sagna’s issues when he returns from his injury.
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