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28 March 2024

Arsenal could lose Walcott to Man United

Arsenal's Theo Walcott gestures to the crowd following the English League Cup fourth round match against Reading at The Madejski Stadium, in Reading, England on October 30, 2012. (AFP)

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By Staff

Liverpool will have to battle with Manchester United in January to lure Arsenal's hat-trick hero Theo Walcott in the League Cup miracle at Reading.

Walcott fears that his match-winning performance on Tuesday night will only be good enough to earn him a place on the bench at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The England  forward has not started a Barclays Premier League or Champions League game since rejecting a five-year contract in the final week of the summer transfer window.

His status quo has not changed after turning down the extension, worth £75,000 a  week, although the 23-year-old wants to stay at the Emirates.

Arsenal are unwilling to increase their offer and have not initiated a further round of discussions.

When asked about Walcott on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger said: "I will speak to my finance minister. I have always said I want to keep him. Apart from the contract talks, we have to give him credit for the way he is committed to the team and the way he behaves."

With Gervinho sidelined for up to four weeks with an ankle injury sustained in Saturday’s win over Queens Park Rangers, eyebrows will be raised if Walcott is not given the chance to start a major game.

"Walcott did very well," added Wenger. "I know he is a great player and many players did well. Theo scored goals and was efficient. He wasn't the only one."

Walcott urged his Arsenal team-mates to build on the victory before heading to Old Trafford.

"Hopefully we can take that into the Premier League," he said. "We were good going forward, but maybe we were not great defensively at times. But we showed everyone what we can do and showed our character."

Liverpool are in pole position to swoop on Walcott while other reports suggested Alex Ferguson would seek him as a replacement for unsettled United winger Nani.

It will be a bitter blow for Wenger if Walcott follows Robin van Persie in making a high-profile defection to Old Trafford.

But Wenger insists the former Southampton man can fulfil his ambition of playing as an  out-and-out striker with  Arsenal, adding: "I always said that he will be a striker so we are on the same wavelength there. 

"He has something - first of all, he is a good finisher. I believe he knows where to be in the box for the rebounds. I like that, because that is a quality for a striker that you cannot give to anybody. Either you feel it or you don’t.

"He has the qualities to play there. I hope he can be a striker at Arsenal."

As former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp commented: "It is ridiculous that Arsenal; are thinking about selling him, though. With that pace, there will be no shortage of takers."