Theo Walcott has been promised a central striking role for quite some time now by Arsene Wenger, and the Arsenal manager still believes the 23-year-old's future lies in that position.
Walcott's future with the club has been under much scrutiny after the forward rejected Arsenal contract offer, and could leave the club for free at the end of the season, with his current deal set to expire next summer.
Walcott has voiced his preference over playing in a more central position a few times in the past, and the chance to play in his preferred position might tempt the right-sided winger to commit his future.
Wenger has no doubts that Walcott will remain with the Gunners and sees the former Southampton star playing a huge role, just like the latest Arsenal recruit from the Saints' academy Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Frenchman has tipped both players, who currently fight for the same starting spot on the right side, to find their best positions - Walcott as a central striker and Oxlade-Chamberlain as a central midfielder - in the next couple of years. "They are a different style," Wenger told the club's official website. "I believe that Walcott is more of a striker-type and Oxlade-Chamberlain is a more midfielder-type.
"You could see Oxlade-Chamberlain developing into a central midfielder but you could never with Walcott. I see Walcott developing through the middle as a striker and Chamberlain maybe as a central midfielder."
Wenger admitted Oxlade-Chamberlain had progressed quicker than he had expected. "I didn't expect him to be in the national team at the moment. He is ahead of what I have planned," he said.
"Honestly, because I feel he needs to get tactical urgency, for him it is good (to play for England at such a young age).
"It could be bad if he was a bit big-headed, but he is very level-headed, very humble. So I think it's good to experience the tactical level of the other players in England.
"When you come from youth-team football basically to that level, it's like you go from primary school to university. And you have to learn quickly.
"It can be damaging if a guy thinks 'Hey, look who I am', but he is not like that. In his case it's good."
Arsenal play Southampton later on Saturday and Wenger has asked Oxlade-Chamberlain to put aside any sentiment that might arise for his former club. "He has to forget that it's his former club and just play," the manager said. "It's always a little bit special for the guys who play against their former clubs -- and I've not seen many players who can deal well with that.
"Sometimes they are absolutely outstanding, but most of the time they have a very average day. You try to assess how big the weight of this special moment will play on their mind. The more experienced they are, the better they deal with it."
Wenger also praised Southampton's academy, which has produced players like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Gareth Bale. "First of all it is (down to) fantastic scouting and they have a good development and coaching programme with young players," he said.
"They started that earlier than anyone else. They have a good reputation with their youth."
Meanwhile, Oxlade-Chamberlain has said he is not surprised by Southampton's rapid rise to the English Premier League. "I didn't ever doubt they'd have a really successful season the year I left," Oxlade-Chamberlain told the Official Matchday Programme.
"They have a lot of very good players there like Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin, Jose Fonte and Rickie Lambert, so I always know they'd do well and I am really happy about what happened.
"I wasn't at all surprised to see them go straight back up, because they've got a really tight group down there, a good team spirit with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, a good management team and a good chairman. Everything's in place for them."
