Arsenal: How much is Theo Walcott actually worth?

There are a number of clubs sniffing around a January move for Arsenal’s Theo Walcott. But how much is the talented, if not frustrating and unfulfilled, attacker actually worth in today’s market?

In the media-frenzied, social-media-driven, glitz-and-glamour world that football has now surged into, there is a desperate focus on the transfer market. The obsession with the new, the flashy, the exciting lends itself well to a society that is increasingly looking for the buzz without the detail, the high without the nuance.

Even more than the mire of rumour and report that we must wade through each and every week, there is a special focus on the buying, not the selling, that goes in the transfer market. It is the recruitment of what’s coming in, not the astute, wise sales that often drive the investment, if done well, that hogs the headlines.

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For Arsenal, that is especially true. Given Arsene Wenger’s somewhat hesitant tendencies to spend, his thrifty-by-nature behaviour, his umming-and-erring, his dilly-dallying that he tries to dress up as careful consideration, fans are yearning for any sniff of a new toy to ogle at. And the media plays on it. They are, after all, demanded to sell newspapers, and hope, even unfounded hope, always sells better than despair.

But it is in the selling of players that clubs can really make hay in the market. That is particularly true in the current landscape. The explosion of prices in the summer has seen players’ value skyrocket. So, both in terms of raising money for investment that is now substantially higher than before, and in regards to maximising profit on commodities — it is not nice to refer to any human being as a commodity, but to professional football clubs, that is what they are often seen as, the time to sell, and sell well, is now.

That is why the recent suggestions that Wenger is willing to cut bait with Theo Walcott are so intriguing. Theo is the archetypal player that can be exploited by a selling club. For Arsenal, he will never be a prominent contributor to the squad. He is no longer needed in that way. He is, at best, a member of the rotation that Wenger uses to provide rest for his more established stars.

But to other teams with lesser players available to them, Walcott is a player who boasts the natural skillset to inspire hope. And hope, as the newspapers have discovered, sells. There will be managers who will be enamoured with his physical gifts, his searing pace, his surprisingly consistent goalscoring record, and his uniquely direct threat. The dream of a blistering attack, centred around an experienced Premier League player, might be a prospect too tantalising to say no to.

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That is a situation that Arsenal should be looking to take full advantage of. It is not inconceivable that they could drive Walcott’s price to the £20+ million mark. That may seem ambitious. But overpriced players are sold every window. Perhaps it’s time the Gunners got in on the action.

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