PATRICK VIEIRA

It was complicated at Madrid. I was suspicious. The lack of recognition for Makelele over there scared me. I was scared it would happen to me. But I should have gone there. Today, I don't regret the career that I have had, but if I could have changed one thing, it would be that: to go to Madrid.

When, in 2005, there was an offer from Juventus, I was in the Bahamas. When I came back, Arsene said to me, 'There is an offer from Juve. What do you want to do?' I understood that he was saying, 'If you want to leave, leave.'

A winning mentality does not come in one day. I'm sure that every single player at Arsenal wants to win, but it is coming to the moment when you need to play really bad games and win 1-0.

I wasn't ready to manage straight away. You have a few players who stopped and managed a first team straight away and were successful, and then there are the other ones who take different pathways. And I think what was important for me was to understand what I really wanted to do.

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.

I'm a good listener, and I take into consideration everything people tell me, but at the same time, I believe my eyes as well as the experience I had as a player. So players who underperform? There has to be a reason why... my job is for them to perform.

I didn't know anything about England or anything about Arsenal, but I knew a lot about Arsene and his reputation, so I went straight away.

I enjoyed playing for the national team, the French national team, because I think France gave me a lot and gave my family a lot, so to wear the French national team shirt was really good, and I wore it with pride.

When you're in youth development, you have to develop players - win or come in second. But the job where I am and the reality of our industry is to win to be successful, and that is what I have to do. I have to be successful, and I want to be successful, so we'll do everything we can do to win.

When I told Arsene Wenger I was leaving, he said to me, 'I have £25m to spend on a few players.' My answer was, 'Obviously, Mr. Wenger, you are not shopping in Harrods. That will only buy you one good player.' Now I have been proved right.

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.

When we talk about Arsene Wenger, I like the fact that he focuses 80 percent about the style of play he wants for his team and not taking so much consideration into the other team.

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

Arsene always gives freedom to his players. To have that freedom is good, but if you can give them the freedom and respect the tactical aspect of the game, it will be even better.

You have some people who recognise the players or coaching staff, but there are a lot who don't have a clue, who look at us and ask, 'What sport are you doing?'

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 think England has to change the way they are teaching football because football is changing, and the method isn't changing as much.

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?

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

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

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!

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.

You train far more in France than in England. Here, we still see football as a game. Football is a job. There is still the mentality where training is at 11, you come in at 10:30, and when it is finished, you leave straight away.

When you are 14, 15, 16, you can train every day in France, and sometimes you can train twice a day.

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.