Theo Walcott says Eberechi Eze may be wise to ignore interest from Arsenal if he is to guarantee himself a place in England’s World Cup squad next summer.
Eze capped off an excellent season for Crystal Palace by scoring the winning goal in the side’s historic FA Cup triumph over Manchester City at Wembley in May.
On Sunday, Eze returned to the stadium and added another piece of silverware to his CV as Oliver Glasner’s men overcame Liverpool on penalties to get their hands on the Community Shield.
But there has been mounting speculation that Eze could be set for the exit door at Selhurst Park before the new Premier League campaign gets up and running, with both Tottenham and Arsenal credited with a strong interest in recent weeks.
The versatile 27-year-old forward is said to be open to the prospect of signing for Spurs, but would reportedly favour a move to the Gunners should the opportunity present itself before the transfer deadline.
It’s understood the England international has a £68million release clause in his contract with Palace, which remains active until Friday.
‘I think the big question or the big thing we’ve got to look at is that it is World Cup year,’ ex-Arsenal and England attacker Walcott said when asked about Eze’s options on the latest episode of It’s Called Soccer.
‘As a player, if it’s a World Cup year, I’m thinking, “I’m going to play consistently for Palace this year”, so if I’m Eze, for instance, my thought process: obviously Arsenal is a different kind of pressure.
‘There is the pressure of them challenging for the title and there’s a lot of words being said that Mikel [Arteta] needs to win something this year so being a player that will help the squad, of course he will, he’s an absolutely gifted player.
‘So he will help the squad, but will he help himself? The good thing thing about Eze’s situation is that he can play every week and he has that maverick style that he accepts making and taking those risks.
‘I think he’s a player that can take those risks at Palace. I don’t think he will get that at Arsenal.’
Though Walcott is confident Eze would ‘100 per cent’ improve Arsenal, he warned the forward that the ‘grass isn’t always greener’, especially in the lead-up to a potentially career-defining World Cup.
‘If he has a good season at Palace, he will go to the World Cup, I’m pretty sure of that… then what other teams will have a look at him after that?’ Walcott added.
‘If I was Eze, I would probably stay put just because it’s World Cup year.
‘If it wasn’t World Cup year then I would probably move on.’
Walcott continued: ‘These opportunities might not come again, though, so that’s the risk these players have got to take.
‘But for me, World Cup year is a big year and I just feel that the grass isn’t always greener.
‘I love the way Eze plays at Palace at this moment in time and it would look very different at Arsenal.
‘He would improve Arsenal, 100 per cent, but I just feel that World Cup year is a big factor for a lot of players this year.’
Walcott believes Viktor Gyokeres may prove to be the missing piece of the puzzle for Arsenal following his summer transfer move from Sporting.
However, the two-time FA Cup winner would not be surprised to see the Swede start on the substitutes bench for Arsenal’s opening match of the season against Manchester United.
Asked if Gyokeres is the player that Arsenal have been waiting for, Walcott replied: ‘Do you know what? Yeah!
‘Forwards think differently. They have that selfish attitude, they want to score goals.
‘[Robin] van Persie was that player. He would create something out of nothing, he’d be in a space, just his instinct, the way he moves on the field, the way he can operate and look after centre-backs.
‘When I say that, I mean put them in positions where they don’t want to be and create space for someone else.
‘When you have someone like Havertz, who I think is a very good footballer by the way and I think he’s got a big season ahead and they missed him massively.
‘But the dynamic is completely different now. [Bukayo] Saka has someone he can bounce the ball off. My player like that was [Olivier] Giroud and I always loved bouncing the ball off him, one-twos, follow in.
‘Giroud was probably an underrated Arsenal forward and that’s a similar kind of player that they’ve got and Giroud was a very good player.
‘But Gyokeres is quicker, he’s probably stronger, he’s not as good looking as Giroud, I’ve got to say!’
Walcott added: ‘I don’t know how everyone else feels about this but I feel he [Arteta] may start Havertz at the weekend.
‘I’m just looking at the fact you’re going to Old Trafford, first game of the season. They’ve got a new dynamic, a new team and they’ve [United] had quite a good pre-season.
‘I think it will be a very tight game anyway, but Havertz understands Old Trafford, he understands the league. He may play with him.
‘I’d like to see Gyokeres play, but I get the impression that Havertz might.’
