Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas fears the Gunners could lose Theo Walcott and clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool may pounce on the opportunity to sign him in the summer transfer window.
The England international missed majority of the ongoing campaign with injury and since his return, he has struggled to break into the starting lineup. On the wings, Arsene Wenger has deployed Alex Iwobi and Alexis Sanchez, while Danny Welbeck has taken the place of Walcott and Olivier Giroud up front.
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Walcott's situation at the Emirates has seen him being linked with a move away from his current employers. The Sun reports the ex-Southampton player will be offloaded as Wenger plans to bring in changes at the club. Nicholas believes the 27-year-old still has a lot to offer for the Gunners and has urged the Frenchman not to sanction his sale.
Also Read: Arturo Vidal urges Alexis Sanchez to leave Emirates for Bayern Munich
"There has to be suitors looking at him. I don't see why Manchester United and Liverpool wouldn't be interested," Nicholas told Sky Sports.
"Theo has the pace that people will be interested in and Chelsea might also be looking at him if they're considering letting Eden Hazard go. I think if the money was there, Arsene would sell him but I would not. It scares me that he could go to another club and deliver."
"I do believe he has it in him to score 20+ goals in a season. Arsene needs to change something for next season and he clearly needs to change the way he uses Walcott if he's going to get the best out of him.
"Theo is too nice though and I'd like to think he would have a good honest row with Arsene every now and again and ask him what he needs to do to prove himself."
Also Read: Arsene Wenger rules out leaving Arsenal in the summer
Meanwhile, Wenger expressed his unhappiness with Walcott's progress this season and has urged him to identify his preferred playing position.
"Not as well as you could have expected. He had good periods in the season. I think recently he has gone through a much more difficult period. But he will come back," Wenger said, as reported by ESPN FC.
"The problem with Theo is he wants to play on the right and through the middle. You have to fix yourself somewhere. When he does go through the middle he thinks maybe it's better for me on the right," Wenger said.
"It's true that I fixed him more through the middle, because of the quality of his runs and the intelligence of his runs. And he has improved his finishing a lot, so he can be a player through the middle. On the flanks today you have to work very hard defensively."
