Theo Walcott reiterated his desire to stay with Arsenal and emulate Thierry Henry, hinting his future would hinge on him playing in a central striker's role.

Walcott has less than a year remaining on his current contract, with the 23-year-old's representatives failing to come to an agreement on a new deal.

However, Walcott wants to remain at the Emirates and become an Arsenal legend like Henry.

"I want to be an Arsenal legend," the England international told ESPN. "Thierry joined the club when he was 22 and I want to become an Arsenal legend like him, playing up front as well, which is a big factor for me.

"I've played on the right wing and had the opportunity to play up front a bit more so I think it's about time."

Walcott insisted money was not an issue in signing a new deal. "I'm not the sort of person who's influenced by money," he said. "I always make my decisions based on football and only football.

"Hopefully, something can be sorted out. I'll just wait for the club to get back to us now and go from there.

"It's a slow process. My last contract took over six months to happen. Hopefully, it can be sorted out.

"I've never said I wanted to go, I've always wanted to stay."

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has hailed his side's new-found belief, after coming from behind and earning a deserved draw against Manchester City. "It is (a confidence boost) because we have already been to three of the toughest places you can go to -- Liverpool, City and Stoke -- and I think we deserved to win all of them," the 30-year-old told the club's official website.

"Two of them we drew and one we won but we could have won them all easily. It shows we are doing things in the right way.

"We are training well, the team is organised and ambitious. We want more and more each game.

"What we are trying to do is get as close as we can and keep building that belief that we are as good as the Manchester clubs.

"If we carry on until March or April when it is really tight and hang in there, I think the spirit we have got in this team can get us something."