Arsene Wenger is hopeful that the commitment shown by five British players in signing new Arsenal contracts this week will convince Theo Walcott to stay at the club.
Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson all extended their deals on a long-term basis but Walcott’s situation remains unresolved.
Talks have stalled with Walcott demanding £100,000 a week and assurances he will be played as a centre-forward but the club are unwilling to increase their offer of a five-year deal worth £75,000 a week.
Asked if the quintet of contract extensions could break the deadlock with Walcott, Wenger said: “A little bit, I hope. [I won’t sell him in January], that is for sure. My gut feeling is that he belongs to this club and that I hope he will sign for us. I always am convinced he will stay.
“You never fix yourself a limit on financial restrictions. At the end of the day, can you pay what the player wants? And does it fit with your wage structure? I have always fought for the players to make money so I am happy when the players make big money. But it has to be made possible for the club to pay it.
“I believe the board will follow my recommendation if it is possible. We have a wage bill that has to be respected. When we go overboard and higher than it is expected, I ask the board to do it and most of the time they follow my demands.”
Despite the uncertainty around Walcott (above) and the long-term planning exhibited in handing out new deals to Wilshere — contracted now until 2018 — and the others, Wenger intriguingly opted not to confirm he would stay at the club beyond 2014.
Standard Sport understands no talks have yet begun on a new contract for Wenger, with all parties “not viewing the issue as a priority at this stage”. The manager insisted he had not told players negotiating new deals he would definitely sign a new agreement.
“I cannot give them that insurance because that decision does not depend on me,” he said. “The insurance I give them is the club have faith in them. I believe it is important that the club have these players for a longer period.
“I envisage to do well this season and to respect my full commitment for the club. I want to do well for the club as long as I am here. After that, we’ll see.”
Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov this morning launched an attack on the club’s hierarchy, claiming Wenger has not “had enough support to provide his conceptions of his game in Arsenal from the board, either for transfers or for keeping players”.
But Wenger said: “I have always had the support from the board and am grateful for that. We have worked over the years in respecting what we did, which is to always work within our financial resources.
“Therefore we made decisions which from the outside looked not based on purely footballing reasons but it was based as well on financial reasons.
“If we can add one or two exceptional players, we will do it. What we do not want to do is add players just because people put us under pressure to buy.
“That is where we have to be strong. If we find a player who will give us something special, we will do it — but that will not be easy in January.”
Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wigan, with Walcott set to retain his position spearheading the attack.
Related articles
Originally Posted by NoeLDG
Do you really think he would openly critisise the board? Really?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote