Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Theo Walcott Deserves to be Highest Paid Player at Arsenal

By Josh Sippie

facebooktwitterreddit

The biggest Arsenal news of the day has nothing to do with the search for a world class striker like Karim Benzema or Robert Lewandowski. The biggest Arsenal news is that Theo Walcott has finally, at long last, without further ado, ending all speculation… inked a new deal to lock his future in at Arsenal (via Arsenal.com)

While Theo Walcott probably should have used a more exciting font other than Times New Roman, we will just have to let that slide.

Immediately, the outcry became whether or not Theo Walcott deserved 140,000 pounds a week, making him the highest paid player on the team.

The answer is definite, and it is “Yes!” All questioning of whether the deal is worth it or not need only look at what Theo Walcott is worth to the team and what he can provide for the team going forward.

At just 26 years of age, Walcott’s four year deal locks him in until he is 30 and makes him a crucial piece of Arsenal’s present and future success. He may have been riddled with injury problems, but Arsenal are taking drastic measures to improve their medical and physio staff so that risk should start to dwindle.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

Stepping away form the injuries, look what Theo Walcott has done for Arsenal. This past year he scored seven goals in 21 appearances, The year before that, six in 18. In the three years before that he notched 45 goals in 127 appearances, making his grand total in the past five years 58 goals in 166 appearances.

Not that great for a striker, you say?

You would be right, but those five years have been spent on the right wing, where Theo Walcott has been forced to play while he continued to plea for a career as a striker. All of a sudden 58 goals in 166 appearances does not look so bad.

In fact, when you compare it to Eden Hazard’s 49 goals in 163 appearances, you find that Theo Walcott is beyond any shade of a reasonable doubt worth the money that Arsenal just paid for him. Eden Hazard has been boasted as the greatest player in the Premier League, yet Theo Walcott is a better goal scorer than him at an unfavorable position.

In case you needed further proof that Theo Walcott was worth the money, consider his loyalty. Arsenal is a team that prides itself on loyalty (ignoring the whole Tomas Rosicky bonanza). January of next year will be Theo Walcott’s ten year anniversary of his initial deal at the club. For those that struggle with math, that means that Theo Walcott has been with the club ten years.

Through those ten years, Arsenal have lost Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and more. But they have not and will not lose Theo Walcott. He is an Arsenal man. As Arsene Wenger pointed out: “As well as their huge contributions on the pitch, they both have a great deal of experience and are very popular off the pitch,” (via BBC Sport).

More from Arsenal News

No matter how long the deals took to extend Walcott’s contracts in the past, they always got done and as he has made perfectly clear through numerous comments, he wants to be with Arsenal for the long haul. He is the longest tenured Arsenal man and he is only 26 years old. I realize I talk a lot about who can be an Arsenal legend, but couldn’t Theo Walcott be one? The guy has been prolific when healthy and he could still give Arsenal another eight years and become one of the longest-serving players in Gunners history. Not only that, but he will be doing so at striker.

One question that some fans are raising is how Walcott, who has been injured, can be paid more than guys like Mesut Ozil who is arguably one of the best midfielders in the game. To that, the answer again is loyalty. Mesut Ozil could very easily surpass Walcott once he becomes more consistent for a longer period of time, but he has only been at Arsenal since 2013. Come time for his next contract, Ozil will seek more money.

But as for now, Theo Walcott is deserving of being the highest paid player at Arsenal and this year he is going to prove it. He may single-handedly fend off all of Arsenal’s interest in Benzema and Lewandowski if he can prove that he is a capable striker.

Next: Is Jose Mourinho Getting Too Cocky??

More from Pain in the Arsenal

Home/Arsenal News