Arsenal warned over Eberechi Eze transfer risk amid Tottenham talks

Theo Walcott has encouraged Eberechi Eze to factor in the World Cup next summer before moving during this transfer window.

Walcott, a club ambassador for Arsenal, joined the Gunners six months before the 2006 World Cup, a tournament the then-teenager was surprisingly part of. Eze, in contrast, has been a regular in England squads since debuting two years ago, receiving 13 caps.

In the Three Lions' most recent match, a friendly against Senegal, he played a full 90 minutes for the first time. Walcott, however, believes the World Cup "is a big factor for a lot of players this year."

Appearing on episode 43 of It's Called Soccer, the show's host, Rebecca Lowe, asked Walcott about Eze's future. "If I'm Eze, for instance, my thought process is Arsenal is a different kind of pressure," he said.

"There is the pressure of them challenging for the title, that Mikel [Arteta] needs to win something this year. So, being a player that will help the squad, of course, he will, he's an absolutely gifted player; he will help the squad, but will he help himself?

"The good thing about Eze's situation is that he can play every week and has that maverick style that he accepts, making and taking those risks. I think he's a player who can take those risks at Palace. I don't think he will get that at Arsenal.

"If he has a good season at Palace, he will go to the World Cup, I'm pretty sure of that, then what other teams will have a look at him after that? So I think, if I were Eze, I would probably stay put just because it wasn't a World Cup year; if it wasn't a World Cup year, I would move on.'

Walcott concluded: "I love the way Eze plays at Palace at this moment in time, and it would look very different at Arsenal. But he would improve Arsenal, 100 per cent, I just feel the World Cup year is a big factor for a lot of players this year."

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