Arsene Wenger has given his biggest hint yet that England international Theo Walcott will be signing a new contract with Arsenal before the end of January.
The 23-year-old former Southampton striker is in the final six months of his Gunners deal and could leave the Emirates Stadium on a free transfer in the summer.
Discussions about a new contract for Walcott have been taking place for several months and the player rejected a new five-year deal worth £75,000 a week in August 2012.
But when asked if Walcott will sign a new contract before the end of the month, Wenger replied: "Yes. We're on a good road. I am optimistic we will get to a happy conclusion. I was optimistic last week but I'm a bit more optimistic this week.
"The discussions progress smoothly - slowly but smoothly."
Walcott is Arsenal's top scorer this season with 14 goals in all competitions and is 6/1 to open the scoring against Manchester City this weekend.
It is a game that the Gunners can be backed at 9/1 to edge 2-1, with City available at 25/1 to cruise to a 3-0 victory.
Don't forget, all Premier League matches are covered by the bet365 100% Euro Soccer Bonus, where you could earn a bonus of up to 100% on your returns on pre-match accumulator bets.
View all Soccer betting
Еnglish
Български
Deutsch
