3. Walcott Situation
Another reason for signing Afellay would be the apparent reluctance on the part of Theo Walcott to extend his Arsenal deal. Afellay would be useful to Arsenal in two ways regarding Walcott. Firstly, he would strengthen Arsenals position in the negotiations with Walcott. Arsenal would surely find it easier to negotiate terms with Walcott if they had a replacement ready; Walcott would become less valuable to the club and his people would have a lower status during the negotiations. In practice this would mean that Arsenal would have a higher chance of tying Walcott down at a reasonable wage, rather than being held ransom to the players agents exaggerated wage demands. Secondly, if Walcott were to leave the club then Arsenal would have a ready-made and technically more gifted replacement. It would take the pressure off at least one of Arsenals summer departures and the fans could look forward to seeing a top class player next season.