Arsenal: Virgil van Dijk transfer getting even more magical

Arsenal’s number one priority right now should be a massive shake up, and landing Virgil van Dijk accomplishes that, with a new added dose of magic.

If the transfer window genie were to tell Arsenal that they had three wishes, I imagine them responding “more time,” “Thomas Lemar” and “Alexis Sanchez happiness.” Of course, what they should wish for is a thousand more wishes, because there is work to do and you certainly can’t fix it with just three wishes.

Speaking of magic, there is a new magical rumor floating around that Virgil van Dijk could come to Arsenal and Theo Walcott could go the opposite way.

Be still, my beating heart. This is the kind of deal that dreams are made of. We get everything we could have wanted. We get the best defender in the Premier League, we might even be able to knock some serious poundage off of that supposed £60m price tag and we can also cut some dead weight.

Because, for as much as Walcott has remained loyal, that’s essentially what he is. His brief and sporadic re-emergences in the 3-4-2-1 are nice to see, but there is nothing reliable about him. And if Alexis really is going to stay, then Walcott really does need to go.

Naturally, all of this has been left to the last minute. We are down to the wire as the transfer window is inching closer to shutting, and all of a sudden, Arsene Wenger has realized that what we have just won’t cut it.

Walcott should be lumped in with all the other dead weight exits and, thankfully, there may be some sort of emotional connection with him returning to the club of his youth.

However, since this magical report initially dropped, the man who dropped it, Emanuele Giulianelli, has shat all over the wonderfulness that would have been.

Walcott to Southampton seems to be a non-starter. He was willing to join on £180k per week but Saints would only offer around £130k. #AFC
— Emanuele Giulianelli (@EmaGiulianelli) August 29, 2017

This premise is all set on money, however. It would be a pay cut for Walcott to return to the Saints, but on the other hand, the Englishman is desperate to get into the England 2018 World Cup squad.

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Having missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to injury, this may well be Walcott’s last chance, as he will be 33 when the next World Cup rolls around and speed doesn’t age well. Nor does a history of injuries.

Southampton has a solid defense already, they need attacking options and Walcott can give them that, with a semi-reliable foot in front of goal.

Given that Walcott has a strong history with the national side, all he would need is a season full of appearances, a handful of goals and assists, and he is almost guaranteed a call-up in the 2018 World Cup.

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That’s what he will find at Southampton. The question he needs to ask is what is more important, the money or the nation.

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