Arsene Wenger gives his verdict on West Ham’s summer interest in Arsenal midfielder

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has delivered his verdict on the interest in Theo Walcott over the summer from the likes of West Ham United.

Arsenal’s Theo Walcott is on fire in front of goal this season

The Hammers were heavily linked with a move for the England winger over the summer as Slaven Bilic looked to reshape his squad for the big move to the 60,000 seater Olympic Stadium.

West Ham were linked with a £25 million bid for the star – as reported by the likes of the Evening Standard – who was in and out of the Arsenal side last season.

At the time many Hammers fans were not keen on splashing out for a player who has only ever once scored more than 10 goals in a season.

Arsenal’s Theo Walcott

But it may well have been money well spent based on Walcott’s electric start to the new campaign which has seen him bag seven goals in nine games – just two short of his total from the entirety of last season.

It would never had happened, though, according to Gunners boss Wenger who said he would not have entertained letting Walcott leave the Emirates.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

“Look I have not spoken to anybody because I was not ready to let him go, I always wanted to keep him,” Wenger told Sky Sports.

It is easy to see why too with Walcott looking completely rejuvenated this season.

It would have been interesting to see Wenger’s stance on Walcott’s Arsenal future had the club finalised the deal for Leicester City star Jamie Vardy.

Walcott shoots at goal

Whether the prospect of being sold by Arsenal was the motivation he needed to improve or not, Walcott has reached new levels this term.

He has a goal ratio of one every 1.3 games so far compared to a goal every 4.6 matches last season.

The former Southampton man is also having three times as many shots this season with over three a game and his tackling has improved three-fold too according to Opta stats.

West Ham United’s Gokhan Tore looks dejected

Instead West Ham ended up with flop Gokhan Tore on loan from Besiktas, Sofiane Feghouli on a free transfer is another who has struggled to make any kind of impact and the club also spent a record £20.5 million to sign Andre Ayew from Swansea City before he was promptly injured for four months 30 minutes into his debut.