Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted the club are doing everything to keep Theo Walcott at The Emirates, while adding he is not too concerned with players expressing their desire to play in the central striking position.

Walcott is yet to agree on a new contract, and has only a few months remaining on his current one. The 23-year-old will be free to come to a pre-contract agreement with a club outside England in January, with the option of walking away after his contract expires at the end of the season also open.

However, both parties have stressed their desire to agree on a new deal, even if their valuations are far apart. Walcott sparkled for Arsenal in the Champions League game against Schalke, after getting a rare start. The forward has repeatedly expressed his desire to play in a central position, and has even hinted his future with the Gunners might lie in Wenger's decision to play him there or not.

However, despite all the rumors surrounding Walcott, Wenger is convinced a deal can be agreed upon. "My desire is to keep Theo," Wenger said. "We do what's needed to keep him and hopefully (as) I told you many times, we can sort this situation out very soon.

"Very soon is before the end of December -- one way or another, that is for sure.

"I don't want to go into any details but you can believe me we do the maximum we can to keep our best players."

Another player, who has expressed his desire to play in a central position is Lukas Podolski, and while Wenger said he is happy to have plenty of options up front, he is not too concerned about players showing their discontent at not being played in their preferred positions.

"I don't find many players who don't want to play central," Wenger added. "Podolski has 101 caps in Germany, and 101 on the left. I brought him as well with the idea that, when needed, he would play through the middle.

"I like the idea, but we will use him where he is useful for the team.

"I believe it's important to have potential central strikers.

"We have Walcott, Podolski, of course Gervinho can play through the middle. We still have (Olivier) Giroud and (Marouane) Chamakh so it's good to have plenty of players who want to play there and be capable to play there."

Arsenal have also been linked with a move for a central striker in the January transfer window, with the likes of Stevan Jovetic, Adrian Lopez and Fernando Llorente reportedly on Wenger's radar, even if two of those players are capable of playing wide in a  4-3-3.

So, it will be interesting to see how the manager will deal with the situation - first until January, and then after the transfer window opens with Wenger having around £35 million ($56 million) available to spend, if he chooses to.