Theo Walcott eager to celebrate new Arsenal contract by sending out a 'message' to the Premier League against Chelsea

Theo Walcott wants to celebrate his new contract in style and “put a message out to the Premier League” on Sunday in the Community Shield.

The forward, now in possession of a four-year deal at Arsenal that makes him one of the best paid players at the club, will look to pick up where he left off last time he was at Wembley with the Gunners, scoring the opener in the 4-0 FA Cup Final triumph over Aston Villa.

The trophy victory marked the end to an impressive second half of the season for Arsene Wenger’s side, with the triumph in the FA Cup tinged with the sense that if Arsenal could have shown their best throughout the campaign they may have pushed Chelsea closer.

“It’s important to actually put out a message to the Premier League that we’re ready this year, against the title champions. We did it last year against Manchester City so there’s no reason we can’t do it again.

“It’s going to be very tight and I think both squads have improved. Chelsea will grow as well but I think the way that we ended the season, just the whole culture around the club now and everything about it, there’s just something special that will happen this year.”

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Though the Community Shield is not considered a competitive match both Jose Mourinho and Wenger have been keen to emphasise the importance of heading into the season with confidence and form. Walcott echoed his manager’s statement, adding: “Some people will think it’s just another pre-season game but us players want to go out and win every game we can.

“A lot of kids dream of playing at Wembley so you’ve always got to take it in, put 100 per cent in and I will, like all my team-mates will do too. We won’t want to let our fans down because they’re going to make the game special for us, I’m sure.”