Walcott close to signing

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Theo Walcott is poised to end the uncertainty regarding his future by signing a new contract.

Discussions regarding a new deal have dragged on for some time, sparking speculation that Walcott was readying himself for an exit from The Emirates.

With the England winger set to become a free agent at the end of the season, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United were said to be closely monitoring his situation.

Arsenal have, however, remained optimistic throughout regarding their chances of putting fresh terms in place.

It has taken longer than both sides would have liked for a compromise to be reached, but it would appear as though Walcott is set to put pen to paper on a lucrative new deal.

That is the indication Wenger has been given and he will continue to put all of his efforts into convincing Walcott to commit his future to Arsenal before dipping into the January transfer market.



He said after Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Swansea in an FA Cup third round replay: "Let's first try and finish the deal and see what we can do from there.

"I hope it will be soon. Very, very soon now."


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Walcott edging towards Arsenal deal

Theo Walcott looks closer to signing a new contract as the striker's representatives reportedly meet with Arsenal in the latest of a series of meetings.



With his contract expiring at the end of the season, speculation has surrounded Walcott's next move after he failed to sign an extension. Arsenal's top goalscorer this season, Walcott scored a hat-trick in the 7-3 win over Newcastle last Saturday to bring his total to 14 in all competitions this term.



Walcott said after that game: "I'm sure that something will be sorted very soon.I've always said I wanted to stay and I enjoy playing for this team. Now we will just see what happens.



"I will continue to play my football and let the people who look after me and the club talk to each other and go from there."



Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made his feelings towards the striker's future clear, saying: "My desire is to extend his contract. He belongs here and hopefully we can do it."

Thursday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Manchester United are ready to enter the race to sign Arsenal contract rebel Theo Walcott, according to the Daily Mirror.



- Manchester United will use funds generated from the sale of Nani to move for two new players in the January transfer window, according to the Manchester Evening News.



- Manchester United target Mats Hummels admits it is an "honour" to be linked with Spanish giants Barcelona.



- Manchester City are preparing to step up their interest in Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, according to AS.



- Brad Jones has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool after impressing for the first team this season.



- Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has refused to give Joe Cole any guarantees about his future at the club, telling the Liverpool Echo that the midfielder's future is being assessed from game to game.



- Martin Jol does not believe Brede Hangeland will leave Fulham despite the latest speculation surrounding the defender's future.



- Swansea City defender Neil Taylor is poised to sign a new deal with the Premier League club.



- Jan Vertonghen claims he opted to join Tottenham Hotspur over Arsenal as Arsene Wenger wanted to play him in midfield.



- Barcelona have scuppered Liverpool's hopes of signing Spanish starlet Cristian Tello by handing him a new deal - but the Reds will be encouraged by his £8m buyout clause.



- Queens Park Rangers midfielder Esteban Granero is a £5.6million target for Fiorentina, according to the London Evening Standard.



- Midfielder Owen Hargreaves has said he could move to an MLS club as he seeks to reignite his injury-plagued career.



- Athletic Bilbao outcast Fernando Llorente declared it is “totally untrue” that he has agreed a move to Juventus, as his options are open ahead of the January transfer window.



- Malaga will offer Isco a bumper new deal to ward off interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, according to reports in Spain.



- Newcastle face a battle with AC Milan to clinch the signing of Anderlecht midfielder Lucas Biglia.



- Roma are leading the chase to sign Manchester United winger Nani when the transfer window re-opens in January.



- Roma could steal a march on Chelsea and AC Milan in the chase to sign Romania international Vlad Chiriches.



- Miralem Pjanic claims he would be happy to remain at Roma as speculation regarding his future intensifies.



- Robinho's father and agent Gilvan de Souza has rubbished rumours that the Brazilian star could leave AC Milan in January.



- FC Twente are expected to cut short their loan deal for defender Dedryck Boyata and send him back to parent club Manchester City after failing to make an impact for the Dutch outfit.



- Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak says he may need to hold talks over his future as he continues to struggle to hold down a regular place in the first team.



- Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway believes Wilfried Zaha may be distracted by the club's wish to keep him beyond January.



- Bundesliga outfit Greuther Furth have completed the signing of Serbian striker Nikola Djurdjic from Haugesund.



- Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Alexander Meier says he would be willing to stay with the club beyond the end of his current deal.

Sagna and Walcott face exits

Arsenal have reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Bacary Sagna as well as Theo Walcott, raising fears that two more first-team regulars will leave the club next year.

Sagna, who has twice been named in the Professional Footballers Association’s Premier League team of the year, has been offered only a one-year extension to his current deal at the Emirates Stadium, meaning that any renewed contract would take him until the end of the 2014-15 season when he would be aged 32.



Arsenal regard that offer as sensible but Sagna, who openly questioned the sales last summer of Robin van Persie and Alex Song, is understood to be disappointed and wants the security of a longer contract.



There is also still no further progress on Walcott, who has rejected a five-year deal worth £75,000 a week. Arsenal do retain hope of keeping both players but, following the departures over the past 18 months of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gaël Clichy, Van Persie and Song, it does increasingly look like there will be further major changes next year.



The uncertainty over Walcott and Sagna comes at a time when the team are clearly in transition and already struggling to adapt following the recent loss of key players.

Tomas Rosicky, the Czech international whose time at Arsenal dates back to Thierry Henry’s first spell at the club, believes that a lack of confidence and a loss in passing fluency are among the key explanations for the current difficulties.



“Maybe I can bring calmness,” Rosicky said. “Sometimes we don’t keep the ball as we used to. I still think we have some very good players and we are better than what we are producing. We are good enough. It is a matter of confidence.



“You can see there are more back-passes than we used to do. You have to gain confidence by winning the next game.”



Arsenal play West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates on Saturday and, after the boos that followed their 2-0 home defeat against Swansea City last week, Rosicky is calling for unity.



“I can understand the frustration as an Arsenal fan as well,” Rosicky said. “We have to know we have young guys and they feel frustration. We all have to stick together. That is what we did last season when ­everyone wrote us off and we came back stronger.

“If we are all on aboard, the ­Emirates is a great place to be and a great place to play football but we must stick together and fight.”

Theo doubt for Three Lions

Arsenal midfielder Theo Walcott is a doubt for England's game with Ukraine after complaining of a tight hamstring.



The Gunners star was in line to start Tuesday's crucial showdown after he came off the bench to turn the game against Sweden but injury could now prevent that from happening.



Walcott was forced to pull out of training on Sunday and now Roy Hodgson has to decide whether to risk or rest the player for the final group game, when England just need a point to progress.



"He has a slight setback," Hodgson told BBC Radio Five Live. "We had to take the precaution of taking him from the field because he felt some tightness in the hamstring that kept him out for so long at the end of the season.



"Whether he is a real contender for a starting position will depend upon what the medical people can tell me and how much guarantee they can give me that if I do start him he won't be leaving the field after five minutes."

Walcott hails Welbeck

Theo Walcott says Danny Welbeck's goal in England's 3-2 win over Sweden on Friday proves he can perform at the highest level.



Welbeck was selected for Roy Hodgson's squad on the back on an impressive Premier League season with Manchester United and has looked good at Euro 2012, scoring the winner against the Swedes to back up a strong showing against France on Monday.



However, with Red Devils team-mate Wayne Rooney back and available for Tuesday's crunch match against co-hosts Ukraine, it's been rumoured the youngster could be dropped from the starting side.



Walcott believes this would be the wrong decision and the Arsenal winger says the 21-year-old's goal against Sweden proves he can cut it on the international scene.



"That chance was massive, but Danny made it look easy," he told The Daily Telegraph. "It was class, probably one of the best goals at this tournament and I am not just saying that because he's my friend. "



That goal had everything and shows that, despite being at such a young age, he can do the business."

Walcott: More to come from me

Theo Walcott is determined to build on finally tasting his first tournament action for England at Euro 2012 - six years after making his debut.



Walcott became England's youngest ever player at 17 years and 17 days in 2006 and was a shock inclusion in that summer's World Cup squad by Sven Goran Eriksson.



Then the Arsenal winger became the youngest player to score a hat-trick for England in the 4-0 win over Croatia in Zagreb in a World Cup qualifier in 2008.



But playing an active part in a major finals has eluded Walcott until now as he scored as a substitute and then set up the winner for Danny Welbeck in the 3-2 win over Sweden last night.



Walcott said: "To make my first tournament performance in a high-profile match means so much to me.



"It's been a long time coming and hopefully there will be more to come from me. It certainly whets your appetite.



"It seems only the other day, rather than six years ago, that I was picked to go to the World Cup as a 17-year-old.



"Now to finally play in a major finals is a special moment and one to saviour and remember, not only for me but for my family watching back home. I hope I can build on it."



England need only a point against the Ukraine on Tuesday in Donetsk to secure a quarter-final spot and Wayne Rooney will be available after suspension.



But Walcott feels all 23 members of the squad have to be up to speed and ready to play a part if called upon by new head coach Roy Hodgson.



He said: "It's not just about the 11 that start if we are going to go far in this competition.



"The boss has already said that. You have to be ready to come off the bench and play a part. He has made that clear to us."



Walcott is full of confidence after believing he produced some of the best form of his career during the past season with the Gunners.



He said: "It was important that I had no injuries last season which was one of the best I had for Arsenal considering the amount of games I had.



"I had a little hamstring injury at the start of this tournament but that is fine."



Rooney has had to sit out the opening two games against France and the Swedes after receiving a two-game ban for his red card against Montenegro in a qualifier in Podgorica in October.



Welbeck will happily welcome back his Manchester United team-mate even though he will be one of the players under threat of losing his place.



He said: "Make no mistake, the whole team is happy that Wazza will be available to play again.



"We all want want to play but it's only going to benefit us to have a player of his proven quality as part of the plans going forward in this tournament."

England battle back for victory

A devastating cameo from Theo Walcott and magical finish from Danny Welbeck saw England end their hoodoo against Sweden with a 3-2 win in Euro 2012 Group D.



England had never previously beaten Sweden in a competitive fixture and things were looking ominous in this Kiev clash when Olof Mellberg's early second-half double cancelled out Andy Carroll's imperious opener.



However, substitute Walcott's introduction swung the momentum back in England's favour as he equalised before creating the winner for Welbeck to leave England in a strong position to progress and Sweden on their way home from Euro 2012.



Scott Parker produced a flying save from Andreas Isaksson on seven minutes after an improvised one-two with Welbeck, but there was nothing the Sweden goalkeeper could do about England's opener on 23 minutes.



Steven Gerrard directed an angled ball into the box and his Liverpool team-mate Carroll eluded his marker to power home a header from near the penalty spot.



Ashley Young wasted a good chance before half-time but the tables were turned after the break as Sweden struck twice.



After Carroll had given away a needless free-kick, and England had failed to avert the danger, Mellberg eventually saw his shot cross the line despite Glen Johnson's desperate attempts to clear.



If there was fortune about his first goal, the former Aston Villa defender would not have believed his luck at the space he was afforded on 59 minutes to head home Sebastian Larsson's free-kick.



Roy Hodgson responded by throwing on Walcott for James Milner and the England coach was rewarded within three minutes when the Arsenal winger lashed home a dipping shot from the edge of the area.



Joe Hart produced a brilliant save from Zlatan Ibrahimovic before Walcott's pace had Sweden retreating inside their penalty area on 78 minutes and his cross was superbly flicked home by Welbeck.



Captain Gerrard had a late chance to score a fourth, but was denied by an excellent reaction stop from Isaksson as England held on to secure a win which leaves them needing to only avoid defeat against co-hosts Ukraine on Tuesday to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals.



France sit above England at the top of Group D on goal difference after beating Ukraine 2-0 earlier in the day.