ROBIN VAN PERSIE

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

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.

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 wasn't artistic in drawing or painting, but I think I am artistic in sport. I think I'm always looking for the ultimate, the maximum. It's a challenge that excites me.

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

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.

When friends wanted to go to the centre of town, they took a bus or tram. I took the ball and went running after them. School was hell because I had to put the ball on the ground. Outside, I was free, playing the ball.

Arsenal fans are real lovers of the game. They don't miss anything in the stadium and are there for the team and the individual players. I have to admit I love banners like 'We don't need Batman, we've got Robin' and stuff like that.

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.

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.

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.

Van Gaal gave me all the confidence I could ask for. He made me striker, my favorite position.

I've always said that I want to win as many trophies as possible in my career, but not at any price.

When I was five, I joined a club, 'Excelsior', the club of Kralingen, in the first division. I was always training. On a free afternoon, I did individual work with Aad Putters, my youth trainer. Not with the idea growing to be a star, but for fun.

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.

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

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...?'

At home in Manchester, I have a recreation room just like I had in London, with all kinds of jerseys on the wall. In the middle, there's a table to play tennis.

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.

Over the last few years, I've started to look more closely at the way coaches work to learn from them - not just here at the club but with the international team as well.

There is no doubt I'm learning new things and progressing with David Moyes. The sessions we have on the training ground are fantastic, and I'm learning a lot from them every day.

Great players must always produce and at any time or in any game. Give them a ball and a pitch, and they will show what they've got. That relaxed, calm spirit you don't really have when you are young.

I've worked with some brilliant coaches, and I've taken a real interest in all the methods they use and the choices they make. And I can tell you that Moyes's sessions and the things he says in his team meetings are spot on.

Playing for a Champions League place is not enough. It is not my target, but it is a target we have to take.

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.