Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
If players are performing for you, their age shouldn't really matter, especially because the older players can bring their experience to the table.
But we have the players, as we have shown against good opposition this season, we're an extremely difficult side to live with at home. (on Chelsea)
Obviously, it has taken time to work with the players around me and with so many new faces coming in the summer, in a way it's been more difficult.
People had said to me New York is kind of cutthroat and people walk past you on the street. I find it the opposite. I find that people want to talk.
I can't stress the importance of working hard enough, work on all aspects of your game. If you does that and you have the ability, you'll come through.
If you're going to be a man that reads the papers and takes everything as gospel truth, that's a sign of who you are, that isn't a sign of the reality.
Of course, there will be few people who are sympathetic but you don't become a great team overnight, no matter how much money you have at your disposal.
I have made lots of mistakes on and off the pitch, and you can only learn from them. If I can get that across, then hopefully I am doing something right.
But to be fair, Arsenal are a quality side. They're not where they are by chance - they are not top of the league and unbeaten because they are a bad team.
Footballers do get a hard time, and there is a lot of generalization going on. When you get to meet players and know them as lads, it's always a bit different.
I admit I was somewhat concerned when we started to sign so many players - naturally you are going to worry about whether you can retain your place in the side.
I think when you have spent the money that we have, it's bound to bring it's own pressure. The players have shown that they can handle that though. (on Chelsea)
Reading and writing is so important, and it's something I am really keen to promote. It's something that can be a bit lost these days with so much else going on.
Reading with my children is incredibly important to me and a wonderful way to spend time together as a family, exploring magical worlds through books and stories.
When I came to Chelsea from West Ham there were certain parts of my game I felt I needed to improve and I like to think now that I have shown dramatic improvement.
People can talk about my age for as long as they like. There is nothing better in football than proving people wrong, and I'll try to do that for as long as I can.
Every season will have its dips and hard moments, and the challenge then is to make sure you don't get too down in those moments and make sure you come back fighting.
I didn't want to be the rebel who was bottom of the class, so I worked hard. They wanted me to stay on for A-Levels, but football came calling - that was my real love.
A lot of things happened when I left there, and to be fair they treated me really bad, and now I have to play against them so I don't have any feelings for them at all.
Scoring goals is the best feeling you can have. I always look up at the stand for my family straight afterwards; it means everything to me that they travel to every game.
I don't know if we'd have been as dominant as we were last season. The new things, the new ideas the manager brought in everyone took them on board so well. He is special.
When I look back, I didn't enjoy any of the big games. I didn't enjoy any of the finals. You enjoy lifting the trophy and the celebrations. But it was always the next game.
I'm really happy here. I think anyone who knows me well, and the fans too I hope, they know that I love the area, and the bond that I've had with the fans has been fantastic.
Even with the quality of players that we have, they're an extremely hard side to break down and once they get on top of you, you find it difficult to stem the flow of attacks.
That's the statement of the culture of England and Britain that someone would try to con a personal statement out of you to then be broadcast everywhere for everyone to debate.
I loved being in America. It was a great experience. People will be drawn to China because of the money but the lifestyle, everything about America, I couldn't recommend it enough.
Having grown up watching Barcelona, Elen gets a bit annoyed watching me if I don't do flicks and tricks like Ronaldinho. I have to explain you can't do that all the time in a game!
There's so many kids out there and it's such a cut-throat world. I've seen a lot of my mates, you know, who are better players than me at a certain age, and they're not in football now.
As far as I see it you just can't give Messi space in the dangerous areas - we have to close him down, get tight and give him as little room as we can because if you don't, he can destroy you.
My dad shaped the footballing side of me, and Mum shaped me as a person. I've always been very close to her - we've only ever had one argument, and that was over something stupid when I was 13.
The advantage does lie with us because we're at home and if we can't motivate ourselves for this match then we can't motivate ourselves for any match. I think the crowd will be up for it as well.
Henry is a great man, I really like him. He is a great professional and I think he will be a great captain for them. He's been the outstanding player in the Premiership for the last three or four years
I loved reading Roald Dahl when I was young but I had forgotten a lot about the books. I read the 'BFG' on the iPad the other day and it was so interesting to see his descriptions of clothes and places.
I have a lot of good football talk with cabbies, but when you want to get somewhere in a hurry, it can be distracting. I always know they're going to want to talk football if 'Talksport' is on the radio.
My dad being a player. I was never that quick as a kid, so I had to get quicker. I trained hard. I was never that player who could roll out and relax, like Michael [ Owen] or Stevie [ Gerrard], who were natural.
I'm a very private person, and you have a lot of people looking into your personal life, away from football. That's the one thing that I don't like, but I always remember how lucky we are that we're playing football.
I don't think Wayne Rooney would be affected if you booed him, that's just how he is, but others go under. They really suffer with it. I think I'm somewhere in the middle... now. I've become tougher as I've got older.
I've always been a city person - London boy - and New York is just incredible. It has what London has but almost more in terms of variety, culture, social life, everything. I just like walking the streets and feeling the energy and the vibe.
I think it was in Moscow last year and I got changed for training the day before we played Moscow, but the fact is they actually wanted to do John's, me and John were next to each other and they did mine by mistake. John had done them I think. So yeah it is true.
I always wanted to be a winner, to score goals. There was no massive bravery in terms of my mum passing away and stepping up. I just wanted to score. I know everyone would have given me a pass on it if I hadn't taken it. But I'd have had the hump with myself if I'd shirked it.
When you see young players coming into the squad and pushing you, no matter what age you are, you have to react. You have to worry about yourself and perform as well as you can. If you end up looking around at others, wondering whos performing better, you take your eye off the ball.
When you see young players coming into the squad and pushing you, no matter what age you are, you have to react. You have to worry about yourself and perform as well as you can. If you end up looking around at others, wondering who's performing better, you take your eye off the ball.
In terms of not retiring? I don't want to leave and think to myself, "Maybe I should have stayed a bit longer". I'm dwelling on it. I have turned down a few Premier League offers. But the fact is, after being at Chelsea for so long and a year with Manchester City, I don't want to get involved in a relegation dogfight.
There's that talent thing where I can score goals, and there's also that want and ambition to keep doing it and doing it and doing it. I've seen a lot of players do it for a year and then they rest on their laurels, but I've been very driven throughout my career. Without being the most talented, I think I've tried to make the most of it.
I remember being in West Ham's youth team and seeing Jody Morris play for Chelsea at 17 and you scoring for Liverpool on your debut when you were 18. I was watching it on Soccer Saturday and I was like, "I can't believe he's scored!" It's professional jealousy. It's best to be honest about it. It gave me real desire. I was thinking "God I want that to be me".