Cole: I won't play for club in racist Spain

"I have never been in that state before like I was with England in Madrid that night. I just didn't want to play football. It got on your nerves so much.

"I would never have walked off, though. That would have made it seem like the people giving the abuse were winning."

Cole is in no doubt who is to blame for the Madrid problems: Spain manager Luis Aragones, who labelled Cole's Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry a "a shitty black man" during a conversation with another Arsenal player, Jose Antonio Reyes.

"If you are in any other job and you say anything racist or bad then you get the sack. In football, players and managers get away with a lot more and I don't think that's fair. As for the fine, if you are going to set examples, he has still got his job and is going to carry on. I don't want the guy sacked, but you want something done.

"As for Roberto Carlos, he just keeps getting hammered. And it was just £400 or so, wasn't it?"

Of course, all the talk of Cole playingin Spain would be redundant if terms can be agreed on the deal that manager Arsene Wenger wants him to sign.

"I don't want to move, this is definitely the club for me. I love the place. To be honest, I am really just concentrating on this season and winning the league again. I want that so badly.

"As for the contract, what I want is to be paid on my ability and what I have achieved. I am not being greedy, I want to make that clear. I would like what I think I deserve.

"I have been here all my career and they paid no money for me. The talks are going well at the moment. David Dein [Arsenal's vice-chairman] was on holiday but he is back now and they will resume. I am hoping - and hopeful - it will all be resolved."

As a player, he believes he is improving all the time. "I got a lot of confidence from winning the league last year and I have worked really hard on the defensive side of my game. I thought I did alright in the European Championships. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I now feel I am a better team player."

The England Under-21 defender, whose present deal runs out at the end of the season, will play again in Lauren's place at Bolton tomorrow.

Wenger will discover this afternoon whether Brazilian World Cup winner Gilberto Silva will play again this season because of a back problem.

Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole are all fit for the trip to Bolton and and Dennis Bergkamp will be on the bench after a three-week absence.