View From The Sphere

Don’t expect a new striker coming in this summer

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WalcottThere has been a lot of speculation once again surrounding the future of Theo Walcott at Arsenal.

The England winger is entering the last year of his contract at the Emirates and despite Arsene Wenger claiming talks are underway to tie him down to a new deal, the player has yet to confirm this – leaving us all to wonder if the former Southampton man will be sold during the summer. Wenger has clearly stated this will not be the case but also suggested Walcott could be sold in December if a deal hadn’t been agreed by then.

However, the Frenchman has since said that he believes Walcott can be the man to fill Thierry Henry’s boots as a striker – which could be a deciding factor for Theo putting pen to paper on a new deal this summer.

Walcott was in the same boat two years ago but did eventually ‘sign da ting’ after being told he will be used as a frontman rather than on the flank – unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, with Olivier Giroud being Wenger’s first-choice striker since.

Walcott has struggled with a knee injury and fitness this season and when he returned to the first-team in December last year, the 26-year-old has, to his annoyance, found himself spending more time on the bench rather than on the pitch. Theo has only started THREE Premier League games since December 21st and despite being fit again is still not in Wenger’s plans, with the Frenchman picking Aaron Ramsey ahead of him.

But perhaps Wenger has now come to the realisation after so many years that Walcott is finally ready to become a striker for Arsenal, dropping the broadest of hints that he will not be adding a new forward to his squad this summer:

‘Being 26 to 32 as a striker is the best age as a striker and I wouldn’t like to miss that golden age.

‘I think his position will be striker. The quality of the runs is so fantastic with the pace he has. When he was younger he was rushing his finishing but he is a good finisher now.’

It’s quite a statement from Wenger about Theo emulating Henry, but I do agree that he is entering his ‘golden age’ and SHOULD see the best of him now.

So if Wenger does see Theo as a striker and plays him in this position next season then the Frenchman will not bother signing a new forward this summer, and rightly so.

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