Perhaps it's understandable that Arsenal are still yet to open contract talks with their 23 year-old winger Theo Walcott, whose current deal expires in 12 months time. Without being too unreasonable to Walcott, the club really do have bigger issues to address with the apparently inevitable departure of the Premier League's top scorer and currently one of the most prolific and in form strikers of the moment in Robin van Persie, so contract talks with an inconsistent and unpredictable winger aren't and really shouldn't be taking priority.
Fans of Walcott will be pleased to hear that Arsene Wenger will open talks with the winger during Arsenal's upcoming tour of Asia which the squad will depart for on Saturday afternoon. During these negotiations however, Wenger will supposedly be told that the England winger will hold out for wages of £100,000 per week - an amount Wenger will most likely be unwilling to agree to considering that even van Persie is earning £30,000 less at £70,000.
But that isn't the big news. Theo Walcott demanding a massive pay rise despite struggling to complete a season in which he can keep up a good spell of form rather than offering only short bursts of attacking effectiveness is rather ambitious of him, granted, but in this case, it's not the biggest news. No, the apparent £25 million bid for Walcott from Chelsea is the news that bewilders.
That is quite an astonishing bid from Chelsea, and yet another clear sign that as long as you represent England internationally your value in the transfer market has at least £10 million added to what it realistically should be based on talent and what you have displayed of it.
Walcott had his best season with the Gunners last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting 13 in 46 appearances. While that may be impressive for the 23 year-old, it is a 23 year-old who has been building up to this sort of season for six years at Arsenal under the guidance of Wenger and some of the best players to have played in the red shirt for the Gunners such as Thierry Henry whose legendary shirt number Walcott adopted.
The £11 million fee Arsenal paid Southampton back in 2006 when Walcott was just 17 was of course in light of the potential Wenger believed he had, but some would question whether or not that amount has been paid back in the patchy performances he has delivered. However, perhaps the improvement last season is what has caught the eye of Chelsea's new manager Roberto Di Matteo and Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers, who is also reportedly eyeing up Arsenal's winger.
Perhaps this is typical Arsenal; they have developed him as far as he can go - nurtured him into something beyond just a promising young starlet at Southampton with a lot of exciting potential and into someone who despite not yet being the completed article, is ready to move on to better things. It is a similar circumstance which has seen the best Arsenal players of the last few years leave and it is soon to show van Persie out of the Emirates door.
This supposed £25 million offer makes things even more astonishing considering Walcott's current contract situation - he could leave at the end of next season for nothing, and if Arsenal win no silverware yet again which remains all too likely a possibility, he won't be signing a new contract at the end of it. Yet, despite all of these things, Arsenal rejected the offer.
Indeed, sometimes, he can change a game for the better with his stunning pace and bursts into the box as he proved at Euro 2012 when he arrived from the bench against Sweden. Other times he is awfully wasteful with useless decision making as he runs faster than he can think. If this is what Chelsea believe is worth £25 million, then Arsenal should bite their hand off and while their at it offer them Robin van Persie for £100 million.
