England forward Theo Walcott is determined to sign a new contract at Arsenal but will take his time with negotiations, with his agent only willing to agree to a contract he sees of worth.
The 26-year-old previously signed a £90,000/week agreement and is believed to be looking for an increase exceeding £100,000.
Walcott has explained that he is leaving things to his agent who is discussing a new deal with the club and is sure that it won’t be long before he pens a new contract for the team he enjoys playing for.
“My agent has talked to the club,” he said. “I enjoy playing for this club so I am just letting them crack on with things and I’ll continue playing football. If it happens it happens. We’ll just play the waiting game and see what happens but I’m sure it won’t be long.”
The England international is comfortable with talks not finishing before the start of the brand new campaign and says that he won’t let the negotiations affect his game, keeping his priorities on the football pitch.
“I won’t let that [contract talks dragging] delay the way I’m going to be playing this season. I can’t let that affect me, I want to do well for this club.”
Walcott reflected on last season, where he played only 14 league games and started in just four of them.
“I didn’t want the season to end. It was a frustrating season for me. When you have been out for such a long time, it is difficult to get into a winning team.”
This is Walcott’s first pre-season in two years; a severe knee ligament injury in January 2014 put him on the sidelines and thwarted his efforts of gaining a stable place in the lineup. He has expressed how he will be working hard to get fit as he feels that this will be the year for him and Arsenal.
“It’s my first pre-season for two years now so I want to work hard and get fit. It’s a really exciting year for myself personally and I think this team can go very far. I’m always going to be judged on goals, I’ve been very happy with my goal record when given the opportunity. That is all I can do.”
The former Southampton man is the longest-serving Gunner and will celebrate his 10th anniversary at the club in January if he is to extend. When reminded of that, he discussed how much he loves this Arsenal unit and said with a smile: “Maybe I should be talking about testimonial times. I have always played with a smile on my face, always enjoyed playing for this club. It is one of the best groups I have been involved with. I want to be involved with that squad as well. I want to work really hard and make sure I’m in that starting lineup come the first game of the season”.
