Jermaine Jenas

“Speaking as a midfield player myself, I know it's easier to make your runs into the box from that deeper, more central position. You can gauge where the ball is going to land and how best to time your run.”

“When a new manager comes in you are naturally wary and it does cross your mind that you might not figure in his plans.”

“When you get married and have your own family, it gives you the opportunity to look back on your own childhood I suppose, but you learn on the job really.”

“I'm a big fan of Steve McClaren. I worked with him over several years during my career and I can say with total confidence that he is an outstanding football talent, as well as being a top guy.”

“In my opinion, the root cause of all Arsenal's problems is that Arsene Wenger is just too nice. He's too nice, too patient and too accommodating, and that has been Arsenal's undoing.”

“As a player or as a manager, you want to go to the biggest and best club.”

“There's precious little incentive to try and make it in the world of management - and that's especially true in England.”

“You don't need to be fast if you're clever in your positioning, and that's exactly what Mark Noble is.”

“Of course, stuff happens off the ball in any football match. Standing on people's toes, pinching, hair pulling, punching in the back.”

“As it is, I played 99 per cent of my football in the Premier League and I'd proud of that fact. That's where my history is.”

“To go to Milan and play against the European champions at the San Siro is phenomenal.”

“When Pep Guardiola accepted the Manchester City job, he would have asked himself one question about the club's current squad: is this a team that can win me the Champions League?”

“If you want to make your mark as a footballer, you think England, Germany, Italy, Spain. Maybe France or Holland. But not China, not the Middle East.”

“You almost need a psychology degree to be a manager these days. Even with Fabio Capello - who may not have done too well with England - you could tell why he had been so successful in the past. He had real authority.”

“I've never looked at my job as pressure. It's always been fun, a privilege.”

“I've got to admit when I did my first ever Match Of The Day, I didn't realise how nervous I'd be. There's a real adrenaline rush as you know you're being watched by around eight million people who'll take the mick out of any mistake you make.”

“Tottenham's number one derby will always be Arsenal.”

“I can remember visiting one school in Nottingham - where there were about 10 pupils on the brink of exclusion. They had about a term-and-a-half to go and I said to them that - if they didn't miss another day - I'd get them football tickets at the end of their studies.”

“I'm only 24, which is still young, but I don't think of myself as one of the young lads anymore. I suppose that's how people have always seen me. But there comes a time when you have to take extra responsibility.”

“The FA finds itself in a situation where there is a glaring lack of English coaches, along with a generation of players with huge experience who will simply go missing.”