By Sami Mokbel
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Theo Walcott has revealed the final three weeks of last season's contract wrangle were the 'most stressful and pressurised' of his life.
Last season was arguably Walcott's best season in an Arsenal shirt, ending the campaign as the club's top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions.
And he achieved that feat whilst going through a long-running contract dispute with the Gunners. Arsenal came close to selling the England international last summer after he refused to sign fresh terms, worth around 75,000-per-week.
Popular: Theo Walcott greets fans before a training session in Hanoi
Sharpness: Walcott at a training session in Nagoya, Japan
Walcott believed he was worth closer to 100,000-per-week.
But after months of speculation, Walcott finally put pen to paper on a new worth around 90,000-per-week in January.
Walcott said: 'Last season was definitely my best so far in an Arsenal shirt. I was top scorer for the club and not many people would have thought that at the start.
'But I always believed I could score goals. It's just a great feeling when that happens. But it's not just the goals. I've been very happy with my form, the assists and the performances as well.
'Especially with all the pressure I had with the contract and all that side of things. I blocked that out because for me it was just about playing football, working hard for the team. I always knew where I wanted to be.
'The three weeks before the contract was sorted out were the most stressful and the most pressure I've ever had to cope with. That was very difficult.
Focused: Walcott wants to help Arsenal win trophies
'I got through it. It was a big weight off my shoulders. It was so difficult but I always knew where I wanted to be.
'When you don't have long left (on your contract) and you go through games, you don't want to get injured but I didn't focus on that.
'I just thought: "Play and be fully committed". I didn't want to just go through the motions. I wanted to try and win for the club and when it comes you' ll be rewarded.
'So there was that two or three week period when I was going through a lot of stress but I got through that.
Birds-eye view: Arsene Wenger chats to his players during the session
Preparation: Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson are put through their paces by the Arsenal Fitness Coach Marcus Svensson
'I had my family and the best person to talk to is always the manager, who has been great to me, so I'm very happy that it got sorted.
'I'm sure the fans were as well because it would have been a lot of stress they'd gone through thinking what was going to happen.
'But it's all done and in the past and now I want to push on and help this club to where I believe we should be.'
And with his future resolved, Walcott, who is in Japan with the rest of the Arsenal squad, says it is now time to finally add a winners medal to his bare mantlepiece.
Hot shot: Walcott was Arsenal's top scorer last season
The forward has not won a single trophy since his arrival in north London from Southampton in 2006.
'I've not won a trophy at Arsenal. Thanks for reminding me,' he said.
'That's one of the main reasons I want to win something at this club. Just to repay the manager for the belief he has and the faith he shows when he brings in players at such a young age.
'He puts young players in there and just says "go and do your thing". He's given me the chance to go from playing in the Championship to playing in the World Cup so he's been very good for me.
'We shouldn't be just challenging for a Champions League spot, we should be challenging for the title. With the squad we have, the players coming in, lots of clubs changing managers…who knows what will happen? 'The forthcoming Champions League qualifier is definitely something we've got to keep our eye on.
'We've always had a great run in the Champions League and we believe if we can beat Bayern Munich we can beat anyone. That's what we should be focussing on.
'We've got it in us to beat anyone when we all work hard for each other. We showed at the end of last season than we can be consistent That's why it can be quite frustrating.'
Kikikikikikiki, oh, kikikikikiki!
- City Fan 4 Lyfe , Castlefield, United Kingdom, 21/7/2013 17:06
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