Walcott: Contract was playing on my mind

Theo Walcott is pleased contract talks with Arsenal are finally over after admitting his contract saga was proving a distraction.

Walcott has agreed a new deal believed to last three and a half years, pushing his wages close to £100,000 and ending speculation that another household name would leave the Emirates Stadium.

The 23-year-old, who led Arsenal's fightback in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea with a clinical finish, told Arsenal Player: "For the last three games before Chelsea the contract was sort of done, but it was on my mind and had been for a long time because it was so close."

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