Are Arsenal really about to be involved in a sensational swap deal?

Two English speedsters stand at a crossroads this summer. Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling is two years from the zenith of his Liverpool contract with plenty of suitors waiting in the wings. At 20, he is one of England’s foremost attacking talents and with Liverpool looking likely to finish outside of the top four and having slumped out of the F.A. Cup at the semi-final stage, questions as to whether Liverpool can match his ambition are likely to grow.

At Arsenal, 26-year-old Theo Walcott has a year to run on his contract. He finds himself out of favour, peering on from the subs bench as the Gunners pieced together an unbeaten run and qualified for the FA Cup Final. Theo has been, more often than not, an unused substitute over the last eight weeks. An offer remains on the table from Arsenal, but whereas he held the aces when he negotiated his last contract in 2013, on this occasion, the Gunners hold a stronger hand. Having been with the club nine-years, Walcott must consider whether he can break into the Arsenal team now.

The respective PA teams of Sterling and Walcott have gone into overdrive, feeding stories into the national press. They probably regarded one another as gift horses not to be looked into the mouth when rumours of a potential swap deal between the clubs began to emerge. Personally, I see Walcott moving to Liverpool as a very viable move. Put simply, Theo must sign a deal this summer or he will be sold. Liverpool, Walcott’s boyhood club, would certainly be in the market for a quality forward. Teaming Walcott with Daniel Sturridge would be a tempting prospect indeed. If the Reds were to lose Sterling, Theo’s pace in attack would go some way to amending his loss.

If the Gunners were to lose Theo, you could very well imagine them becoming interested in Sterling who has a lot of Walcott’s qualities but is, in truth, already a better version of the 26-year-old; he has a higher technical level and the ability to beat a man. It’s not difficult to see him fitting into Arsenal’s system alongside Alexis and Giroud. However, I could not see Liverpool sanctioning a Walcott-Sterling swap, largely for PR reasons. It would be widely interpreted as the north London club flexing their muscle over a close domestic rival. Not only is Sterling a better player, but his contract situation is slightly more favourable to Liverpool than Walcott’s is to Arsenal.

I would be amazed to see John Henry sanction a swap move this summer. It would perhaps be more feasible if Sterling had one year to run on his deal too, but Henry would lose an awful lot of face in the current scenario. Lest we forget his “what are they smoking?” tweet when Arsenal came knocking for Luis Suarez. I think it is much more likely that Sterling will go to Manchester City, who need new blood and particularly young, English blood in order to meet squad regulations. Liverpool would then probably regard snafooing Walcott from Arsenal as a partial recovery in the PR phoney war. In short, I can definitely see Walcott going to Liverpool, I can certainly see Wenger having some interest in Sterling, but I’d be amazed if any enquiries would be entertained by FSG.