Patrick Vieira

“When you come into a country, it's difficult to come in and say, 'I will change everything.' If people have things in their mind, then it's not the best approach.”

“Every single position has a massive part to play on a team.”

“Capello put me behind Demetrio Albertini, so I had the right position. I had to follow him like a shadow. It was to learn the basics, but at the same time, it was also a great vote of confidence.”

“I think what African football needs is better organization, better structure, and I think, after that, we'll help the players to be more professional when they're coming to play for their national team.”

“You need somebody to open your eyes, to tell you there's things that you can do, and I had that person in Brian Marwood. I think if I'm where I am today, it's because of him.”

“When United play at home, they get some advantage that other teams don't get. I think when you go to United, Madrid, Barcelona, or Milan, when the referees referee these kind of games, it's always difficult to go against these kind of teams.”

“I'm passionate about the job. I'm really excited. I'm really determined.”

“You can buy any strikers you want, but this position is important, and you need someone there who can do the job.”

“I must first be sure of the type of football that I want played in the long term. It's up to me to build this identity.”

“I don't look further than next year because in our world, anything can happen.”

“We know that if someone is in a better position than you to score, you have to give him the ball.”

“It had never been a decision to choose between the French national team or the Senegalese national team because I was growing up in France and playing in the French youth national team, so it was something really normal.”

“In my time at Arsenal, we had a really good balance. We had players who were fast, players who were really strong physically, and players who were really creative. When you look at the generation of Arsenal at the moment, they may be playing better football than we used to, but they win less than we used to - so, where's the balance?”

“I understand that when people try to wind me up, it's because I'm playing well. Whenever I had trouble, it was because I reacted to something. Now I'm much more focused on the game and on doing my job.”

“I love Arsenal. I really love this club. They've brought me a lot.”

“You have to choose the right club with the right people. That can have an impact when things aren't going the right way - especially when you lose 7-0!”

“What I liked of Mourinho is his work ethic and the way he organizes his team against the opponent. He knows the strength and weakness of the opponent, and he will give the details for what he wants. And for me, that was impressive.”

“I love London. I feel at ease there; I can push my trolley in the supermarket without being bothered. If I want to go to a club, a cinema, or have a walk, I am free - free to live my life as I wish. I have talked about it with some players, and I am convinced that we are in one of the best countries.”

“I think players maybe now want to look more pretty than anything else. What I feel disappointed about when I watch games is too many players think of themselves. Still good players, maybe better than we were, but looking too much at themselves.”

“I had to prove everything because I was coming from Milan, and nobody knew me. I was a young talent who hadn't done anything, so I had it all to prove and all to do.”