The BBC’s David Ornstein claims that Arsenal are planning to offer Danny Welbeck a contract extension, holding initial talks about a new deal.

Welbeck’s current contract expires next summer, and up until this point there was reportedly no offer on the table for him, so he was in a similar situation to Aaron Ramsey. However, according to Ornstein, that could be set to change.

“I think there have been some initial discussions about now offering Welbeck a contract, if the numbers are right for the club, bearing in mind he could be out for a while,” Ornstein told Arseblog (via CannonInsider). “I don’t think it’s a sentimental thing, but they value him very highly at Arsenal.”

As the BBC journalist notes, Welbeck could be out for a while now, after undergoing a couple of surgeries following an injury against Sporting Lisbon. The timing does make it seem very much like a new offer is only on the table for that reason, but Ornstein is clearly keen to stress that isn’t the case.

Of course, it’s always possible that an injury like this affects Arsenal’s decision for non-sentimental reasons. An injured Welbeck is unlikely to attract as many outside offers, so he’s more likely to accept a lower offer from Arsenal just to have some security over his future.

If the Gunners don’t have to offer Welbeck a big pay-rise to stay, their decision becomes a lot more straight-forward. They can just choose to keep him or let him leave for footballing reasons alone. We’ll see what they decide.