Arsenal are reportedly willing to sell Theo Walcott if a new extended contract cannot be agreed and statistics would suggest there’s cause for concern for Arsenal fans. Though the BBC have reported that he’s set to stay at Arsenal this summer, fans will no doubt worry about the potential for him to leave for free next year should he see out his contract without agreeing new terms.
Robin Van Persie, Alex Song and Theo Walcott contributed 47% of Arsenal’s combined goals and assists in the Premier League last season, so that’s what an attack that hasn’t scored in the opening two league games this campaign, potentially has to compensate for.
With Van Persie leaving for Man-Utd and Alex Song joining Barcelona already in this summer transfer window, can Arsenal really afford to let Theo Walcott go as well?
The winger scored eight goals and made ten assists for his team-mates in last season’s Premier League and Arsenal are reportedly willing to sell him if a new extended contract can’t be agreed.
The table below shows last season’s league goals and assists record of the three players who could all be ex-Arsenal by Friday midnight.
| Player | Goals | Assists | Total |
| Robin Van Persie | 30 | 10 | 40 |
| Theo Walcott | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| Alex Song | 1 | 11 | 12 |
Arsenal scored 74 Premier League goals, which means the three players combined scored 53% and assisted 42%
Are new signings Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla capable of producing similar figures this season? While they’re all very good players, they’re all new to the Premier League and may need time to settle. The problem is Arsenal don’t have much time to find their firepower.
Maybe new Assistant Manager Steve Bould will be able to shore up the defence so they concede less and perhaps other players could chip in with more goals to help the situation. However it’s unlikely that Wenger will bolster his attack any further in this window so the Gunners new boys need to prove they’re good enough by delivering respectable goal and assist tallies on the pitch.
The transfers of Van Persie and Song went through mainly because their desire was to leave the Emirates. I feel with Walcott, Arsenal have more control over the outcome and if they really want to keep him and they make the effort to, they probably will.
Unless Wenger has another surprise up his sleeve, it may be a good idea.
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Yes !!!!!!!!!!!
I take it the author of this article didn’t bother to check Arsenal’s statement on this…
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-walcott-will-stay-with-us-and-play-for-us-
Why are u so chicken hearted? You don’t just write at of nothing, and it is important to consider the other side of the coin before conclusions are drawn. It took Rvp 7 whole years to achieve what he did last season. Giroud, podolski, and cazorla have only played just two matches and the world of Arsenal is like finished? Learn to be positive, give this lads a chance.
I actually wrote this article before that statement but the articles can’t be put up straight away. Take your point about RVP but do Arsenal have time? They need the players to come good now, and there’s a possibilty they could. Never said Arsenal were finished, just being realistic, making the point that a large proportion of Arsenal’s goals from last season have to be replaced. Doesn’t mean they’re failures if they don’t because it would be tough for anyone (except Messi and Ronaldo I guess). I am optimistic but at the same time the new signings have to prove themselves and give the fans something to be optimistic about.