West Ham boss Sam Allardyce hopes Winston Reid says no to Arsenal but 'big offer' could sway club

West Ham United defender Winston Reid could yet remain at Upton Park beyond the summer transfer window but Arsenal's hopes of signing the New Zealand international this January have been enhanced after manager Sam Allardyce admitted a "big offer" would secure his services.

Reid is out of contract in the summer and Allardyce had been consigned to the 26-year-old leaving the club on a free at the end of the season despite the club's charge towards the Premier League top four.

The former Denmark youth international has been linked with a £3m move to Arsenal in order to cure the Gunners' defensive woes and while Allardyce is optimistic the player could remain beyond the mid-season window, a substantial offer could clinch a deal.

"There's no choice for me, he stays - that's it," he said in his pre-match press conference before the FA Cup third round replay against Everton. "If somebody makes a big offer then obviously the chairman decides but for me, he's staying.

"The chairman decides whether the money is big enough but for me he stays and I think that the way the club has improved, I think he will stay.

"And I think that what we have done this season - and hopefully [we will] finish off the season strongly - might persuade him to sign for us.

"We are on the up at the moment and we have got a very big future ahead of us, moving into the new stadium. So the club could be bigger than it's ever been in the next four to five years."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has already confirmed signing a new defender is a priority for the club during January, with suspension and injury having decimated his back four.

Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny have spent lengthy spells out, Nacho Monreal, Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs have suffered numerous niggling injuries, while Per Mertesacker began Arsenal's season late after celebrating Germany's World Cup win.