According to reports emerging in Italy, Napoli are chasing the signature of Arsenal attacker Theo Walcott, in a move for a player who was reportedly on manager Rafa Benitez’s wish-list even during his time at Liverpool.

Arsene Wenger was put in a spot when their former star striker Robin van Persie insisted to leave when Sir Alex Ferguson came knocking on the door, and knew that the loss would be hard to replace. Since then, the Gunners have shown faith in Walcott, who is one of their star strikers at the moment. Walcott has grown as a player over the years, and Arsenal supporters are excited to see further development of the attacker in the future.

Wenger has done a good job of helping Walcott step up to the mark and become the main striker at the club. The form of Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla have ensured the Gunners have a strong knit of players who work as unit and do not depend on an individual player. Walcott has received support from the squad, and they have also seen to the fact that he is not the only player with the burden of scoring majority of the goals. However, for the standards of an international striker,Walcott has struggled to score, with just 40 goals in 181 league appearances.

Walcott’s style of play has been a key reason for his progress in one of the most challenging leagues in the world. His pace to get past defenders, tenacity to look for the supporting striker, and finishing ability gives him an edge over the opposition. His skill set is such that would suit any league in the world, which explains Benitez’s reported interest in the player.

However, Arsenal will not part with Walcott unless the offer is too good to refuse. With the potential big money sale of their striker Edinson Cavani, the Italian outfit will have up to £50 million to replace the Uruguayan, and could make a very good offer to the Gunners.

Arsenal, who themselves are in talks about new signings, with Stevan Jovetic and Gonzalo Higuain on the list, could use a possible deal for Walcott to finance a move for their transfer targets.

According to the Metro, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said, “We require another right sided second striker.”

“We are closing in on someone in this area, but I can’t say anything more in order to avoid the asking price going up.”