So young Master Walcott has finally signed his contract for a reported 100k a week and a signing on bonus of 3 million. Possibly the most un-imaginative chant that the grove has witnessed will be heard until at least the summer of 2016. Considering the fact that Theo signed for the club in January 06, if he sees out the length of his contract then he will be the first player eligible for a testimonial game since the legendary DB10.
We could sit here and debate the wage that Walcott will receive till we are blue in the face but I will break it down thusly. 100k a week for 3 and a half years equals roughly 18,500,000. Couple this with the signing on bonus of 3 million means the total cost of the deal is roughly 21 million. Sounds like big bucks, right and it is. However, the fee Arsenal paid to Lille for Gervinho is reported to be in the region of 11 million, couple this with wages of 60k a week for 4 years equals 23 million. Walcott deal doesn’t look so bad now does it. You can compare Walcott’s deal to other wingers in the league and it still compares favourably.
The main benefit of Theo signing the new deal however isn’t even about what Theo is capable of bringing to the team. He is a 23 year old full English international whom is widely regarded as the quickest player in England and we all know speed kills. Take the testimonials about Theo from some of the most respected people in the game. Pep Guardiola on Theo: “you would need a pistol to stop him.” Lionel Messi on Theo: ”one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against.” While I wouldn’t call Walcott world-class he most definitely has a worldwide reputation and profile.
Over the last few years we all know that we have seen our best players leave the club for both pastures abroad (Flamini, Hleb, Song, Cesc) and at home (Cuntbayor, Na$ri, Clichy, RVP). As the contract talks between Theo and the club dragged on and on I’m sure we all feared a repeat scenario in the summer with one of our best players leaving as the other clubs circled like vultures( Citeh had a bid for Theo turned down by the club in the summer). The fact that Theo has signed his new deal and not forced a sale is a welcome change and a surprising one if we are honest with ourselves. I felt that he would wind his deal down and leave on a Bosman.
The last few years have seen us gain a reputation as a selling club which we needed to shake off, we can’t be seen as a feeder club if we want to attract the talent we need to push forward. By convincing a player with Walcott’s reputation to sign on again for a more than decent wage it sends out a message to the rest of the footballing world. Arsenal don’t need to sell players and are more than capable of paying wages to top players. If Walcott is given a contract of 100k a week surely someone of the calibre of Edison Cavani would be paid 130k at the club(not that I think there is any semblance of a chance of him joining). Lets hope that Theo signing on can signal a slight shift in the change of philosophy at the club when it comes to wages and transfers. With a bit of activity in the transfer window and the current slightly downcast mood surrounding the club could be lifted and im sure we would all appreciate that.
Tomorrow sees the game against the Chelski, hopefully we will have a preview for you all tomorrow
Till then
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Doesn’t matter how you paint it Walcott is simply not good enough.
Comparing him to other failures such as Gervinho is pointless and simply highlight’s Wenger ability to buy frankly useless players or injury prone players.
Read a stat for Walcott recently that stated Giroud made more passes in 16 minutes than Walcott di in the entire game.
He is fast but not physically strong, easily dispossessed and incredibly inconsistent with his ‘feather duster’ feet.
Wenger has loved the circus surrounding his contract negotiations as it has given him an excuse to smoke screen his usual dithering with his nonsense that Walcott’s contract had to be sorted first.
What nonsense! I deal, on average, with 6 contract negotiations a week in my job, it is called ‘m-u-l-t-i-t-a-s-k-i-n-g’
If I didn’t hit my targets for a number of months or simply did bad business for the firm my ass would be out the door.
How has Wenger stayed so long while blatantly under-performing?
Let’s be honest he had his best years at the club with a team and coaching staff that George Graham put together, once all of those players left, which was around 8 years ago, the fall from grace started and was fueled by Wengers incompetence.
The fact that screams at us is that Wenger is not a good manager, with complete control of the club he has made a mess of amazing proportions.
I pray that the AKB’s and Wengerites lose the rose coloured cult glasses they were for all things Wenger related. Newsflash for you all the experiment didn’t work!
Time for Wenger to go now!