Arsenal Transfer Rumour: Walcott Set to Sign New Deal

Theo Walcott is reportedly set to commit his future with Arsenal, ending his ongoing contract saga at the Emirates. The 23-year-old's current deal is set to expire in the summer, allowing the England international to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club now.

Goal.com reports that Walcott is closing in on signing a new five-year deal with the Gunners, which will see him get a better pay of £90,000 a week, when compared to his current weekly salary of £60,000.

Besides, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is also understood to have accepted Walcott's demand for featuring as the central striker. The former Southampton man is the north London club's top scorer with 14 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.

Walcott earlier revealed his desire to stay at the Emirates after the striker's representatives had entered the second round of talks with the Gunners.

"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," Walcott explained.

If the report turns out to be true, it will be a major boost for Arsenal as Wenger can now set his target on bringing in another proven goal-scoring striker, as the north London club are linked with a move for Barcelona striker David Villa and his compatriot Adrian Lopez of Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal Midfielder Targets FA Cup Glory

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has now set his eyes on winning the FA Cup, ending Arsenal's seven years of trophy drought. The Gunners ended their match 2-2 against Swansea City, forcing a replay on 16 January.

"It's a great chance to win a trophy. We don't want to miss it. We improved a lot in the second half [against Swansea]. We had many chances to finish the game earlier, but then suddenly with one mistake they scored the first goal. We kept going and showed a lot of character to get back into the game, score and go ahead. But then we conceded a sloppy one again," Arteta told the club's official website.