Arsenal Transfer Rumour: Walcott Waiting on van Persie‎'s Decision

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is waiting on club captain Robin van Persie's decision to sign a new contract with the Gunners before deciding on his own future in north London, according to The Sun. Both players have only a year left on their club contracts and the report suggests that if the Dutchman refuses to sign an extension, Walcott will listen to other offers.

Robin van Persie has been heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium for some time now, with Manchester City and Juventus understood to be interested in him. Although manager Arsene Wenger has stated he is confident van Persie will snub a move to Italy, the newspaper claims the Serie A champions are keen on both the striker and Walcott and have asked club chief Pavel Nedved to engineer a move for the Arsenal duo. The Turin outfit has strong financial backing from the Fiat family and are desperately trying to strengthen their attack ahead of a much-awaited return to the Champions League.

Walcott has been linked with a move across London to European champions Chelsea as well.

Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder and Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky is a major injury doubt for the Euro 2012 quarterfinal meeting with Portugal on Friday. The 31 year old, who is struggling with an Achilles problem, missed the Czech's 1-0 victory over co-hosts Poland that guaranteed qualification into the last eight. It now seems the playmaker could remain sidelined for the game against Cristiano Ronaldo's side as well, according to team manager Vladimir Smicer.

"Will he be able to play from the start? I don't think so. He hasn't trained for eight days, he's only been able to do some work on the bike. In order for him to play in such a tough match, he should at the very least have had three full training sessions in order to be 100 per cent ready," Goal.com quoted Smicer as saying.

Rosicky was an injury doubt for the tournament after picking up a calf injury while playing for the Gunners in the final game of last season.

"The decision as to whether he plays in the quarter-final will be taken after the official training session on Wednesday evening," said Czech spokesman Jaroslav Kolar.