• England international will not rush talks over contract • Discussions may now drag on into new season

Theo Walcott is keen to pen a new contract at Arsenal, as he enters his 10th year at the club, but will not sign for anything less than he feels he is worth.

At 26, Walcott and Arsène Wenger believe the England forward is fit enough to fulfil his potential but he will not be rushed into signing, even if it means starting the final season of his contract without a new deal agreed.

Premier League Asia Trophy: five things we learned Read more

Walcott signed a £90,000-a-week agreement 18 months ago and is believed to feel he is now worth in excess of £100,000, in keeping with some of his peers. He said: “My agent has talked to the club, 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.”

Asked if he would be comfortable with talks dragging into the new season, he responded: “Definitely. It’s not in my thought process at all. You don’t want to dwell on it, you want to play well and if it happens it happens.

“I won’t let that 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 was speaking after opening the scoring with a clinical finish in Arsenal’s comfortable 3-1 win over Everton in the final of the Asia Trophy in Singapore.

It was his first pre-season appearance since a strong end to a frustrating campaign in which he was not assured a starting role after recovering from the cruciate knee ligament injury he suffered in January 2014.

That problem kept him out of the World Cup and he did not play in the Premier League again until a substitute appearance against Burnley nine months later. He played only 14 league games last season, just four of which were in the starting lineup.

He showed what he can do when he is fit with a closing day hat-trick against West Brom and the crucial opening goal against Aston Villa in the FA Cup final, when he was selected ahead of Olivier Giroud.

Walcott was then strongly linked with a summer move to Liverpool while Chelsea wanted to take him as part of the Petr Cech transfer but now he has his sights set on rewarding Arsenal’s loyalty with an injury-free season.

Chelsea willing to sell Juan Cuadrado but only if the price is right Read more

He believes a player in his position should be scoring upwards of 20 goals and added: “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.

“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.”

Reminded he is the club’s longest-serving player and could celebrate his 10th anniversary in January, he 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.”