Arsene Wenger admits committing what could amount to £12million on teenage striker Theo Walcott may be a "huge gamble" - but is confident it will prove to be money well spent.

Walcott cannot sign a professional contract with the Gunners until his 17th birthday on March 16, and so will join the Barclays Premiership club as a scholar until then after they paid Southampton an initial fee of £5million, with the rest set to be paid in instalments as the youngster develops.

Despite having seen the likes of promising youngsters Jermaine Pennant, Richard Wright and Francis Jeffers fail to make the most of their time at Highbury, Wenger believes his newest recruit has shown the right signs of progressing all the way to the top of the game.

"When you go to the top, you must be top. That is why it is always a gamble," said Wenger.

"When you sign a player, you always believe he will do it, and you give him the maximum possibilities to achieve his potential. You can never make a player successful.

"You can help a player who wants to be successful, but the biggest part comes from him."

Wenger declared: "You have to accept that when out take a boy at 16 years of age it is a huge gamble, and I am ready to take that gamble because of the vibe I feel.

"After that if I am wrong it will be only my fault not his fault, but I am very confident that I will be right."

The Arsenal boss added: "It is a big gamble, but I hope that kind of pressure is not placed on the player but on me.

"He is not responsible for the kind of money that they have paid.

"I am responsible for that and I hope I will stand under this kind of pressure, not the boy.

"It would be unfair, it's not his fault we have paid so much money for him."

Wenger was first alerted to the talents of Walcott when the youngster played for the Southampton youth team against his own young Gunners at their London Colney training complex.

The England Under-17 international became the youngest player ever to represent the Saints first team this season, and Walcott is confident he has what it takes to cut it in the top flight.

"I've played in the Championship, played over 20 games now, and played against men," said Walcott.

"Apparently it's really quick in the Championship and you get a little bit more time in the Premiership, I've heard.

"I've played with men, so I think it should be no problem really."

Chelsea were also in the hunt for the talented youngster, but Walcott is sure he has made the right choice for his future.

"I like the youth here and I think they get a chance to play," he said, speaking to the club website, www.arsenal.com.

"It's all about my development as a youngster and just to train with world-class players is what I'm looking forward to."

Walcott maintained: "Money's never been an option for me so I don't pay much attention to that.

"I just want to develop as a player and hopefully go on to big things."

Wenger also felt it was a football, rather than financial issues which saw Walcott added to his squad.

"The decision of the boy was not a question of money because if it was money I would say the player would have ended up at Chelsea. But with us it pushes us as far as we can go," said Wenger, who will give Walcott a 10-day break before he joins up with the first-team squad.

"I feel the boy likes the club and likes some players, one of his role models is Thierry Henry and he likes the style of play of our game. I am just pleased that in the end he decided to join us.

"One of the good things we have here is that young players feel they get an opportunity here and that is certainly a decisive factor.

"When you are so young you feel if I go there and I am good enough I will play."

Disappointed Saints chairman Rupert Lowe has called for an overhaul of the academy system, labelling the move "unsatisfactory" and insisted he had no option but to let his prized asset leave or risk the striker agreeing terms with another club once he turned 17.

Wenger, thoughinsisted: "We wouldn't have liked to have done that because we respect the system in England where we have done things the right way.

"We cannot go on one side when we are in a trial when people don't respect the rules and us try to turn the rules around.

"He had a moral agreement with Southampton to sign a professional contract, and the family and the agent wanted to respect that and I think that was right.

"They had the agreement and we did not want to push them out the agreement."