ARSENAL HAVE reopened contract negotiations with Theo Walcott and they are hopeful of securing him to a new five-year deal.
The England winger has entered the final 12 months of his contract and the club have had to consider their options in the event of him not agreeing to fresh terms.
The club have been scarred by the departure of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. He left with one season to run on his deal and his refusal to extend his contract forced the club to sell; the pain will take some time to heal. Asked which player he would most like to have signed this summer, Wenger replied: “Van Persie.” There is a confidence at the club, though, that Walcott will not be lost. The player’s agent had talks at Arsenal’s London Colney HQ yesterday morning and Wenger suggested that there was the will on both sides to reach a resolution.
“Negotiations continue . . . not directly with me at the moment but we will try to sort it out one way or the other,” Wenger said.
“We want to extend his contract and to keep him at the club but you need not only our desire. His desire is also right. He wants to stay and we need to find an agreement. We have so many players in midfield and on the flanks but Theo is a very important player for me. I hope he will stay and that’s it.”
Wenger remains in the market for new signings and said he had “a clear idea of what I want to do...if it happens, it happens”. Any addition, though, would have to be “special”.
