Arsenal made a show of announcing new contracts for five of their brightest young talents on Wednesday – but the one who everyone was waiting for was not among them.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson all put pen to paper on bumper five-year deals at Emirates Stadium, as Goal.com had exclusively revealed on Monday.

But Theo Walcott, whose current agreement is set to expire in the summer, has long been at loggerheads with the club over an extension, with his desire to play as a centre-forward proving a serious obstacle.