Football's football. You're going to come across the good and the bad, but you've got to take it all in your stride.

I'm a centre forward, and that is my preferred position. But I'll play on the wing or in midfield, wherever the manager wants me to play.

I have played up front for England, been away to tournaments, and scored goals there, so I know once I get into those positions I will put the chances away.

I am never happy if we are not winning.

It is good to get goals, but it is quite depressing if we don't win.

It is always good to be away with a few of the older lads because you pick up so much from them every day. You see how they prepare for games, how they rest, and how they train.

Some of the centre-backs are 90 kg. I'm only 70-something kilos - so I need to be strong.

It's really important at United that you've been brought up with that winning mentality.

It hurts a lot to see United not winning.

I used to get two buses to school, and you'd see more or less everyone in the city centre, so I kind of knew everyone around my age group.

There were a lot of people in Manchester that I was connected to, so it is a bit different coming to London and not knowing as many people.

There is no better feeling for a Manc kid than scoring for United.

Fletcher Moss was where it started for me and a lot of other players as well.

I've been at United ever since I was a little boy, and I had a great time there.

If you get a big injury, it is not easy at all to deal with it.

You play football for a reason... I am passionate about it.

At Arsenal, we're not short of combination football, and I like to join in on that and get in behind defenders and try to get shots off at goal.

I am one of those people that if you are going to say something, just say it. I take it on the chin.

My parents made me who I am. They are kind, generous, loving people.

We are a religious family. My mum still goes to church every Sunday. There was a time when I was younger when I started getting games on a Sunday, so it came down to a choice between going to church and playing football. I think my mum knew what I really loved, and she did not stop me from going to football.

People around me would never let me get too big-headed. At the end of the day, you're just another human being.

Each manager has their own ideas that they want to get across to the players, and how to do it.

Obviously, you want to win a trophy and finish as high up the table as possible. But it's important to focus game-by-game.

There's going to be bumps along the way, in any walk of life, not just as a professional footballer with injuries. You've got to be resilient with it and keep pushing through. It'll make you stronger as well.

Obviously when a new manager comes in, he's got to instill his own ideas within the team and with his set-up for the games.

I've played in a few Champions League matches and got into quarter-finals - sometimes unluckily knocked out - but you have to prepare like any other football match: you have to play the game, not the occasion. That's been instilled in me since I was a kid.

Once we are on that pitch, the main thing is getting that win.

Getting injured is a massive setback. When you look back at it, it makes you a better and a stronger person today, but at the time, it's hard to deal with.

I started growing late, so I was a late developer.

If you are playing on the left of a four-man midfield, there are a lot more defensive duties to do, so you can't find the times to keep attacking. But if you're on the left of a 4-3-3, I find that position really good as well.

If I was to play on the left, I'd rather play there if there was three in midfield.

I wouldn't say I play better for England, but my goals-per-game ratio is definitely better.

For United, I'm more likely to be left wing of a four-man midfield with only two centre-mids, so it's a bit more difficult for me to maybe make those runs to get in and score those goals when I've got to think about my defensive duties as well.

I've grown up at Manchester United and been professional all through my career, and I always do extra work.

It's the same for everyone - when they are being played out of position, they don't really like it.

What would I have studied at university? Football!

The teacher would say, 'Not everybody makes it as a footballer, so what do you want to be?' I'd say, 'A footballer.' The teacher would say, 'But not everybody makes it. So what do you want to be?' I'd say, 'A footballer.' Every year that happened! Nothing was going to get in the way of me being a footballer.

Mum and dad worked so hard to help me and my brothers grow up as good people. They were both social workers, working with kids with learning disabilities. They are just great people. It means so much to me to make them proud.

I'm really lucky that my occupation is something I love.

Sometimes things are said on the pitch that people won't see at home. There's a bit of banter on the pitch as well.

It's always good to be competitive.

It is well known I prefer to play through the middle, so when I get my opportunity, I just want to show what I can do.

It is good for any footballer to get a run of games.

Obviously, Thierry Henry is someone I have looked up to ever since I started playing football.

Obviously, I wasn't born when Pele was playing at World Cups, but I have watched plenty of videos, both of him and other great players.

It's not great to lose your best players.