Thomas Vermaelen believes that Theo Walcott has created a selection dilemma for Arsène Wenger after his dynamic performance as Arsenal's central striker in the club's vital 5-2 victory at Reading on Monday night.
Walcott has long craved the opportunity to start up front, considering himself as a striker rather than a winger but he has endured a frustrating wait for his chance. When it came at Reading, he grasped it. The home team's defending was almost comically bad but that should not detract from Walcott's display, which was marked by intelligent and pacy movement, composure and persistent threat.
He scored Arsenal's final goal, his 11th of the season in all competitions, yet could have matched Santi Cazorla by scoring a hat-trick. First he was denied one-on-one by the goalkeeper Adam Federici and then by Adrian Mariappa's remarkable goal-line clearance while he had further sightings.
Vermaelen, the captain, noted how Walcott's ability to stretch opposing teams had a significant benefit for Arsenal's creative midfielders and, although he did not say so, it was clear that Walcott offered an alternative approach to Olivier Giroud, who has been Wenger's first-choice centre-forward this season. Giroud, a more traditional No9, was a substitute at Reading, having recovered from a back injury. Wenger did not say who would start up front at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
"Theo did well as the striker," Vermaelen said. "We know his qualities; he is quick and goes in behind defenders all the time. We found him and we scored a few goals. He can go in behind the defenders and that means he can stretch the opposition and it gives the midfielders a lot of room to play and, with our midfielders, that is a big plus."
Walcott's current contract expires in the summer – he could sign a pre-contract with an overseas club in January – and there has been no movement for months over agreement on fresh terms at Arsenal. It is not just about the money. Arsenal have offered £80,000 a week; Walcott wants closer to £100,000 a week to reflect, in part, his status as the commercial face of the club in east Asia. He also wants assurances and evidence that he will be allowed to play up front and Wenger's selection at Reading could be interpreted as a conciliatory move in that direction.
"Of course we want Theo to stay," Vermaelen said. "But that is something that is going on between the player and the club. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes – we don't talk about it. But Theo has been invaluable for us when he has played this year. He is dangerous and I hope he could stay this year.
"We don't really talk about it [the contract stand-off] because that is going on in football all the time. It happened last time with Robin [van Persie] in the summer. It's the job of the board and the club about what they are going to do with it so we can't do anything about it."
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