New Arsenal contract for Walcott

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has signed a contract extension with the Barclays Premier League club.

The England international would have been a free agent at the end of the season, and Arsenal have been in protracted negotiations to seal a lucrative extension which would make Walcott among the highest paid players at the club with what is understood to be a three-and-half-year contract worth close to £100,000-a-week, and boosted by a lucrative signing on fee.

Walcott joined Arsenal as a raw talent from Southampton seven years ago, and the announcement ends speculation he would follow former captain Robin van Persie out of Emirates Stadium in the summer.

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