TheSportsCampus

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal forward Theo Walcott could be on his way out of the Emirates. The former Southampton youth product has reportedly rejected a new deal in the region of 75,000 pounds per week from Arsenal and with just 6 months remaining on his current contract Walcott is free to negotiate a free transfer with clubs outside England in January.

Walcott was bought by Arsenal for a fee believed to be in the region of £10-12 million from Southampton in 2006 and has made 260 appearances for the club since, scoring 52 goals. He has also been in particularly good form this season having scored 10 goals and assisted 7 in 17 appearances in all competitions this season for the West London club. His good form and the dicey contract situation have alerted fellow Premier League clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to a possible transfer.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger though is still trying his best to hold to the English international as he hopes to commit Walcott to the club. It remains to be seen if he will succeed to convince the Arsenal board to keep Walcott though given that the board had previously sold key players in Samir Nasri and Robin Van Persie under similar circumstances to rival teams.

Liverpool seem the most likely of teams to test the waters with a bid in January as Walcott seems reluctant to put pen to paper. It will be interesting to see what route Walcott takes under the current circumstances though as he may be offered a hefty wage by clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea should he see out the season at Arsenal and leave on a free transfer next summer. Additionally with Liverpool nowhere near returning to the Champions League, chances that he would be willing to take a step backwards in his career seems unlikely.

Should Walcott find his way out of the Emirates, it would be even more difficult for Arsenal to maintain a consistent level of football with so many key players being sold every season.