Wilfried Zaha has admitted that his head was "all over the place" during a summer of speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal.
The Crystal Palace forward, 26, had hoped to push through a move to Arsenal - the club he had supported as a boy.
However, the Gunners did not meet Palace's valuation and, while there was late interest from Everton, Zaha ended up staying at Selhurst Park.
Roy Hodgson did not start the Ivory Coast international in the first game of the season, and Zaha has revealed that he was distracted by the talk of a move elsewhere.
"I had to put my head down and play my football. I would have been hindering my own progress by moaning and not wanting to perform properly," he said to the BBC.
"I have too much respect for my manager, the fans and my team-mates to treat them that way. It was a thing where 'OK, this hasn't happened but I've got to get on with it.'
"I've got to prove every time that I'm the top player I claim to be so I had to get over that quickly. Obviously my head was a bit all over the place at the beginning of the season but I had to nail down and just get on with it because the team deserved that.
"I'm seeing how it goes. I'm a Crystal Palace player and I'm just trying to perform to the best of my ability for my club. I'm not thinking about anything else and just taking each day as it comes."
Zaha has managed just one assist in his eight Premier League games so far this season, but Palace are sixth in the table after a strong start.
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