Walcott is out of contract in the summer and is unsure whether he will stay long term with Arsenal, for whom he wants to feature more regularly as a striker.

"Of course we want him to stay, but that is something that is going on between the player and the club," Vermaelen said.

"I don't know what is going on behind the scenes - we don't talk about it, because that is going on in football all the time.

"It happened last time with Robin in the summer. It's the job of the board and the club what they are going to do with it so we can't do anything about it.

"Theo has been invaluable for us when he played this year. He is dangerous for us, can stretch a team with his pace and I hope he could stay this year."