SCOTLAND midfielder James McArthur has signed a new three-year deal at Crystal Palace.

The former Hamilton Academical player admitted his decision was an easy one and that he was happy to prolong his stay in south London.

McArthur, 27, left Hamilton in 2010 for Wigan Athletic, where he won the FA Cup, and he moved to Palace last summer.

He was linked with a £7million move to Norwich City, but he has opted to remain at Selhurst Park where he has established himself as a top class performer.

McArthur said: "I'm delighted. I had a fantastic time last year. I think the club's going in a great direction, everyone's positive around the place and I'm really looking forward to the coming years.

"It was an easy decision. There was nothing really to consider. I think there was a bit of general interest [in me], but Palace is where I want to be, I'm happy and that's the main thing in football.

"When you're happy, you need to try to keep that and keep going with it. I think the club have got the potential to go places. We finished tenth last year and we'll be looking to progress again. I'm really delighted.

"I think the main thing here is that we've got all the right characters, we all want to push each other and that's going to be seen next season as well.

"Everything comes together here at Palace, so it wasn't really a big decision to make. I spoke to the club and said that it was something I really wanted to do, commit my future, so I'm really excited about it now. Hopefully the team will keep moving forward and keep progressing."

The Glaswegian has won 19 caps for his country and has been an integral part of Gordon Strachan's squad over the past 18 months.