One of the club’s longest serving players, joining in the year 2006 from Southampton as a 16 year old, Theo Walcott went on to achieve over 250 appearances for the club, scoring over 100 goals in the process. But, given the circumstances and the players available in the market, is it time to say goodbye? In my mind, the answer to that question is simple, and doesn’t bring much confusion, it is a simple yes. At the age of 28, by all means, it doesn't look like Walcott is going to advance further, nor is he a factor that can lift Arsenal upwards. Big teams this summer parted with players of very high quality such as Matic who left Chelsea to join Man United, James Rodriguez left Real Madrid to join Bayern Munich, Bonnuci left Juventus to join AC Milan and the list goes on. Why hasn’t this been the case with Theo? I’m not indicating that teams like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich will knock on our door for his services but on the contrary, and with the financial power of teams in the Premier League, smaller or mid-table teams can easily pay 30 million + for his services. In my opinion, teams like West Ham, Crystal Palace and even Everton all come under that category. Such amount of money can be reinvested in a younger, talented player who can actually add something to this team or bring in a new style of play, my fingers here are pointed at Lemar and even Reiss Nelson whom both fit exactly with the description mentioned due to their talent and versatility.
The big question here is...is Walcott refusing the idea to leave, or is Arsene Wenger refusing to sell? In my opinion it’s a mixture of both. The boss is known to be loyal to his players, even the ones considered deadwood. But given his wages, age and capabilities, is there more time to fulfill his potential? I certainly believe not, and I believe it is time to move on and new blood is deeply required in this team.
a_faqihi
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