Theo Walcott is growing increasingly frustrated at Arsenal's failure to reopen discussions over an extension of a contract that is due to expire next summer.
The England international, who is free to negotiate with foreign clubs in January, is perplexed by the lack of urgency with which his future had been addressed.
Despite requesting talks about a renewal last season, the forward was forced to wait until the summer to receive a formal offer from the club. Unimpressed by both Arsenal's attitude and the five-year term on offer, Walcott rejected their proposal and has been used sparingly since, starting just one Premier League fixture but scoring seven goals in all competitions.
Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have inquired about the player's availability over the past 12 months, although it is unclear whether the Premier League champions will sustain their interest following Txiki Begiristain's appointment as director of football.
The Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas is an admirer of Walcott, but is believed to be seeking a different type of central striker. Walcott had told friends that the opportunity to win trophies will be the most important factor in his decision making, ahead of playing time and financial factors.
Aware that he risks losing the player for no transfer fee, Arsene Wenger has stated that he wants Walcott's situation resolved before the January transfer window opens.
"There is urgency," said Wenger last week. "How much, I don't know, but there is urgency. We want to sort it out before Christmas, one way or the other."
sports@thenational.ae
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
