Arsenal sorta sign Walcott

Arsenal have confirmed a deal with Southampton starlet Theo Walcott which has no less than 84 different signatures to prevent competing clubs from sending the deal into arbitration.

Walcott, still only 16, cannot sign a professional contract for 2 more months, until he is officially 17. The would-be contract is for 4 ½ years. Walcott's arrival follows the purchases of Togo international forward Emmanuel Adebayor, 21, and the 19-year-old French midfielder Vasiriki Abou Diaby.

Arsenal have gone to truly amazing lengths to sign Walcott, more than I have ever seen for a player his age. The nasty saga between Manchester United and Chelsea over John Obi Mikel has made Arsenal very cautious, and you can see the long term effect of the Mikel mess being played out here. Ever more agents, ever more legal advice, ever more costs associated with drafting young talent into a squad.

Under British law there are many loopholes for other clubs to step in and negotiate until Walcott signs a professional contract. As Mikel showed, a club is exposed. At the moment Walcott can only sign as a scholar.

Is any of this likely, probably not, the youngster could have gotten a better financial deal at another club from the start, but chose Arsenal for footballing reasons, something Thierry Henry should also do.