Cash Rich Monaco Plan £34m Bid for Arsenal Star - Report

French giants Monaco are planning a £34m bid for Arsenal forward Theo Walcott in January, according to the Daily Mail.

The English winger has not played for Arsenal since being inflicted with an abdominal strain following the Gunners' Champions League game against Marseille in September. The report states that Arsene Wenger, with his new found financial security, is in no mood to sell his best players coupled with the fact that the Englishman is happy with his role at the Emirates. Walcott is an integral part of the Arsenal setup, having scored 21 goals and assisted 14 in all competitions last season, making him the top scorer for the Gunners.

Walcott has started the new season quietly, having picked up only one assist thus far in the Premier League, but the introduction of Mesut Ozil and the likes of Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey behind him should provide much reason to cheer in the coming games. Arsenal were tied in a battle with Walcott and his advisers over his contract which was due to expire in the summer of 2013, but Wenger managed to meet a truce and the winger signed a three and a half year extension in January this year, which put him among the most highest paid players in the squad.

Arsenal are woefully short in attack owing to injuries to key players and Wenger will be hoping that his attacking trio of Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are not far off from making a return to full fitness, failing which may be a telling blow to sustaining their title challenge this season. Their lack of depth was apparent when they lost 2-0 to Chelsea at the Emirates in the Capital one Cup, something which could have been avoided if the Gunners had more options in attack.

The north London club will host Liverpool at the Emirates on Saturday, a game which will determine their title charge this season. A win here will put the Gunners firmly in the driver's seat while a loss may act on their nerves and pit the crowd against them.