Former England international Alan Shearer believes if Theo Walcott leaves Arsenal for another Premier League rival then The Gunners can forget about luring big-name players and becoming a major force for years to come.
Walcott, who netted a hat-trick against Newcastle over the weekend, is yet to agree a new deal at The Emirates with his current one set to expire in six months time.
The 23-year-old wants to play in the centre-forward role for Arsenal and has been deployed in the position for the past three games, scoring four goals along the way. And Shearer reckons it is important that Arsenal tie him down to a new deal, or risk falling further behind the pack:
‘Arsenal have got to do everything to make Theo Walcott stay at the Emirates or simply forget about being a major force for years to come.
‘It is that big an issue at the club right now.
‘Lose him to one of the big three of Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea and I would not blame Arsenal fans for giving up.
‘They have seen far too many good players leave with the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie the major body blows, of course.
‘Let Walcott leave as well and they are on the back foot immediately when they try to bring any major signing to the Emirates.’
Shearer then went on to commend the club for signing up five of their promising youngster on long-term deals – including Jack Wilshere – and thinks if they can tie Walcott down as well then Arsenal’s future will look bright:
‘They made a big statement of intent recently by signing up five of their bright young stars on long-term deals, most notably Jack Wilshere.
‘Convince Walcott as well that the future is bright and sign him up and suddenly they are moving in the right direction again.
‘It will give them extra power when it comes to getting others to come to the Emirates. Lose him and they continue in reverse and this time might not find the forward gears again.’
He added:
‘Walcott is currently THE face of Arsenal worldwide.
‘A great professional who never gets in any trouble, speaks well and represents the club superbly on and off the pitch.
‘This is not someone you want to let go and, if they do, other players will look at the situation and ask why.’
But is Shearer right?
Would it be a disaster if Walcott left Arsenal?
Give us your thoughts on the matter below
Visit and Join our Facebook page, click HERE to do so.
Gunnersphere is currently looking for new writers to join the squad. Contact via twitter or at Gunnersphere@snack-media.com for further details.
There will always be Arsenal..fact!
I don’t know. When Ronaldo left,people thought the club would stagnate if not decline. With Arsenal it could happen because,imho,I don’t see any other guy stepping up.
Btw Walcoot scored a hattrick. Against a better organised defence he wont be given so much space.If he can carry on in the big games against MC and Chelsea ,then he has truly arrived. At the moment I think he is 70% on the way.
Theo is the difference between Arsenal & clubs like Liverpool. A born pace-maker & Arsenal’s silver bullet. Every title contender needs at least one such player. If he leaves, the electric effect of Arsenal will leave with him. The Premier League is a very pacy league & finding someone who causes ALL defenders to go weary is extremely rare. But they all fear Theo. He is the fastest in the league. He’s so exciting now because he’s proven that he’s got both incredible speed & incredible control. Forget his detractors because they’re idiots. If Wenger sells Theo all because he refuses to pay the lad £100k/week, it will be the most foolish move in football history.
I don’t know if he is right or not but the fact is Arsenal should try all the best to extend Theos contract that is all.
We have been losing players since the beginning, Anelka, Petit, Overmars.
We always comeback, that is one of Wenger’s strengths.
Maybe more British players will slow down this continuous iteration of players.
As much as i d rather he stays,Sheara is wrong,we ve lost better playerz,Henry,Viera et al.Wolcot is trying but there re bter playerz out there.
?? think alan shearer ????§ right in all aspect ??????f thought Bcos as he has said loosing walcott wil mean that we arsenal fc has turned into ? feeders club 4 other clubs & ?? will §ay It’s ? big shame to all gunners fanz
Simple answer is no. Theo is a good player, but not an automatic starter still. He still has room to improve, and I do think he will get there. But not yet, and going to another club is a riskier proposition for him too.
And it would be a blow to see him go, but I do not think it is the end of the world. RVP was the loss that really had a massive impact, but I think Theo will not, although the fans will be terribly disappointed.
It would not be a disaster – providing he is replaced like for like or like for better (esp. a proven striker).
The problem to me is not just the fact that players leave but replacements have often a great potential rather than proven top flight capability.
However, we can’t let players hold the club to ransom – I don’t think he has yet proven himself as a £100k per week striker even though we would not want to lose him.
Why not agree an increased salary now (£80k) plus a salary increase (to £110k?) in 12 / 18 months which, if not paid (due to him not consistently proving himself in a striking position) triggers a release clause at an agreed price (£15m?)?
Or he can risk going to another club now where management style / environment may not suit (he does seem a fragile personality from a distance) and his career may hit difficulties – there are examples of this happening in the past to Arsenal players.
I believe Alan is right! I guess we r gettin his statement wrong. He has not said walcott is messi, he has just said he is a good player and a great ambassador of our beloved club (if u fault dis pls indicate) walcott has distinct qualities that we lack in our team. He probably is the most professional players i ve seen play 4 arsenal lately even with all stick he gets at times moves on and gets d job done (most notably our wins of tottenham n chelsea late season) dats not a “soft hearted” character (he is more determined n strong on d inside than he looks) , he never complains in d media. Walcott would add a lot 2 our premiership rivals (u can argue he wont start or he will, he would definitely give dem a gr8 option) and leave us wit a less potent attack. He can never be easily replaced (remember how he was on d bench at d start of d season, i guess u thought our players hadnt understood each other, d truth is dat its cos we were easily understood upfront). We have no geniune treat going forward oda than him. Ox n gervinho r not d best attacking players in my opinion. Ox would be beta in a cdm role or should improve his decision making. Back 2 d main topic, selling walcott means we go a step backward because we have never replaced any star we have sold in past with a player of same quality. That is why we have not won in seven years (saw most of u listing players past and claiming someone stepped up. I agree but it left holes dat have kept us from winning trophies) y not keep the best and let others step up while they are there it means the squad gets stronger. At this rate we wont be attracting big players, we already started losing battles for players (we even lost a player 2 everton, altho it was cos he wanted more games wic 2 me isnt a gud reason, if a club like manu wanted him he would go 4 d trophy sake). I think we should just see d truth instead of hiding in our emotions n ego. Walcott is a great player in my opinion. Hate him or love him, he is proving doubters wrong. He is worth d hype!