Robin Van Persie

“Everyone knows me by now. I love football. I am quite principled in that perspective. It is always difficult to find the perfect match, but I do feel this is the perfect match for me.”

“Every big player who leaves Arsenal is a massive loss. But no player here is bigger than the club.”

“I don't mind if my performances get dissected and people criticise what I've done on the pitch. They can talk about my game 24/7 for all I care. And a lot of those opinions and criticisms may actually be right. So I don't mind that.”

“Football has always been my great love. I slept with a ball - really! Even when I started going out with Bouchra - ouha! She must have thought, 'What's this...?'”

“If you don't know something, just go and ask.”

“When I came to Arsenal years ago, I saw things from Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry I'd never seen before.”

“When I look at a football pitch, I suppose, yes, I see it as my canvas. I see solutions, possibilities, the space to express myself. I am always looking for ways to be creative, to gain an edge.”

“Manchester United breathes football.”

“Of course I love silverware in my football career. But sometimes you can't rush from A to Z.”

“Arsenal will always come first. You name them - Henry, Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp. People saw these stars shine, and they thought: 'Is there life after Vieira, Pires or Bergkamp?'. But look at what happens here. At Arsenal, you always see young, fresh talent grow into the same role as those stars who have left. Other players have replaced them.”

“I live on having a challenge when the line is really thin. I like it the most when you have no clue what is going to happen.”

“Dennis Bergkamp is, in my eyes, still 'The Master'. The fact that he never won the Champions League, the European Championship, or the World Cup does not take anything away from his greatness as a player.”

“I think Messi is an absolute giant in the game. Not so much because of his dribbles and actions. That's why most people rate him. But I think, differently from others, that he is phenomenal in his teamplay and combination play.”

“I think my biggest strength is that I always keep doing exactly the same thing. There are forwards who go crazy with euphoria, but after a goal, I let myself fall back to the midfield, recharge. Keeping yourself cool and concentrated on your mission.”

“I don't see things the way my parents do. They can look at a tree and see something amazing, whereas I just see a tree. That's not to say I don't appreciate its beauty. When I watch the sea in somewhere like Sardinia, I see the beauty in that.”

“Midfielders, on average, get somewhere between half a second and a second to think before they have to move the ball on. For strikers, however, it is significantly less: between 0.1 and 0.2 of a second before a defender is on them.”

“Our fellow players are sometimes occupying the spaces I want to play in. And when I see that, it makes it difficult for me to come to those spaces as well. So that forces me to adjust my runs based on the position of my fellow players. And unfortunately, they're often playing in my zones. I think that's a shame.”

“Everybody who comes to my home has to play at least one set against me. I beat them all. The best thing is when they want another set. People like me who can't stand not to win. I beat them again and again until they are furious, then I laugh. That's funny.”

“Arsenal are a great club, but after eight years, sometimes you feel that you need a new challenge.”

“Now I know a lot about my body, like how important it is to eat well, as it makes you stronger in the end and helps prevent injuries. Or when you train, do you just start to shoot, or do you have a good warm-up first?”