I've always been pretty quick for my whole career.

Some people are born fast.

When you are asked to play for Arsenal, and for the first-team at that, it is very hard to say no.

At the beginning of the first season, you don't have that pressure to perform at 100 per cent, because it's always hard when you first start. But now, in the second season, people are expecting big things from you, so you can't really disappoint them.

You have to play your 'A' game in every single match and that's a good thing.

It doesn't matter about the other team, when we have the ball and push hard, we can score goals. It is up to us to start the games with that desire, that motivation, and then we can get good results.

Arsenal is a club that likes to bring through young players, that's something that always gets the fans excited, to see someone from home come and play for the first-team. I think that's something that every team should do. The fact that Arsenal does it a lot and that I'm one of them, I'm really proud.

It's definitely been a hard journey, one with lots of ups and downs.

I am very happy in London.

Mesut is someone who gets a lot of criticism, but the players who are around him are very happy to have him and play with him. He makes things very easy for us.

In the beginning, learning a new position is not easy.

It's true, when I was at Barcelona I played as a winger.

As a team, if you don't have the best season, it doesn't help.

Obviously, I grew up in Barcelona, and when I watch them play I want them to win. The team are always going to be in my heart.

If a coach comes to me and says you've done something bad I'm going to take that advice.

If someone from 'Arsenal Fan TV' says this guy needs to do this or that I'm not going to listen to him. They're entitled to their opinion and the way they want to do it. If people find it funny, then go watch it.

I've always had little problems in my ankles when I played very hard games, they'd get very inflamed and stiff.

I started as a winger and played there for about six years but when I came to Arsenal they told me 'now you have to play me at the back' and everything just changed.

As a professional athlete you have to be technical with what you eat. You have to make sure your intakes are on point every day.

In life, you should be allowed to express yourself. People are happier like this.

The problem is that people have an idea of what a footballer should look like, how they should behave, what they should talk about. If you act a little differently you become a target. There is pressure to conform. This is very dangerous.

People have called me 'lesbian' for growing my hair.

People should be able to express themselves without feeling threatened. That is true in football, but also in life.

Fashion is something that brought me closer to my family as I grew up. It's something that was deep inside me, in my roots, and I started taking more interest as I grew older because it reminded me of my mother and my grandmother. It's not something I take lightly, and I'm going to be open about it.