Walcott absence is nothing to do with contract standoff, insists Wenger
Arsene
Wenger insists he is not freezing Theo Walcott out of the Arsenal side.
When called
upon this season, the England international has been in impressive form for the
Gunners. And with Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski still finding their way in
English football, it is a source of frustration for the Emirates Stadium
faithful that the 23-year-old forward has not started more than he has this
far.
Many fans
and pundits alike believe the reason for this is Walcott’s contract standoff,
with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season. Until he pens an
extension, many feel Wenger will continue to mainly use him as an impact
substitution, despite the struggles of the first team in recent weeks.
However, the
French coach insists this is nothing to do with his decision not to start the
former Southampton youngster more often. Instead, he claims the player has been
suffering with an illness, and this is the only reason for his non-inclusion.
"I will
make a decision on when I know how fit he feels, this is a digestive
problem," said Wenger. "He has been sick and did not train, so we
will see how he is. It is nothing linked to his contract at all, it's because I
have played other players, simple as that. We started the season well, he was
injured too. He played 40 minutes on Saturday, you can't say he's not
played."
If Walcott
doesn’t agree a new deal by the turn of the year, the general consensus is that
he will be sold. A number of Premier League rivals, including Liverpool,
Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, have already been linked with the
forward, who has not started a league game for his current club since August.
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