I'm living my life the way I want to live it, and not the way people think I should.

My family has always made clothes. Growing up I can remember sewing machines being everywhere.

Loads of players love the stock markets. For me, it's fashion.

Getting rid of all the food I was eating and going to this plant based diet it did take those few days to actually feel better, but when it got to the beginning of the third week I felt so good.

With Arsene, he wanted us to play in the same way regardless of the opponents. The idea was that we could play in our way and beat anyone.

For us, it's always important to improve and keep things realistic.

As a team, the most important thing is results.

I am a football fan, I've watched football my whole life. When my favourite team didn't do well I'd get angry.

I don't think there's players who go on the Internet to watch 'Arsenal Fan TV.'

It is just the start of your professional career and you have to handle it properly and realise that it is not always like that. There will be ups and downs. It is important that you keep humble, keep working hard and see it as the first step on a long journey.

People have different passions, people have hobbies, people have lives outside their job, and nowadays it seems like the only thing we are allowed to do is train and play football.

Football is not just about spending money.

Some of my team-mates in the Under-18s used to play 'Call of Duty' and they told me I should jump on it. I have played it ever since, for my first one or two years I played it pretty much ever day, I was mad about it.

When you get to 16 at Barcelona, it's the age that you sign your main contract. I was about to sign that, but we knew there were a lot of other options because you always get them from other teams at that time. I didn't have the option to come to Arsenal until I was right about to sign with Barcelona.

When I was back at Barcelona, the boots I wanted to wear were Ronaldinho's. He had those Tiempos, gold and white, and I thought they would suit my style as a quicker player.

I doubt I'm the fastest player in the world!

Under Wenger I became the player that I am today because he's the guy that signed me at 16. I owe him a lot and all the time I spent here he made me play so much even when I was really young. Those are things you owe him back.

I don't believe that there's a footballer out there that only thinks about football.

Football has always been my number one thing, but I have other things in my life, like fashion, which is something that has always been in my family.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

I am very happy in London.

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

Some people are born fast.

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

Everything you do off the pitch always shows so you have to work on yourself physically as well, it's not just working on your touch.

Representing Spain is very important.

My job is to focus on the pitch, what happens off it is something for my agent.

I say every year that England is my home now.

My dream when I was at Barca was to play at Camp Nou and I did - just not wearing the shirt I'd expected when I was little.

For me, Barca was where I grew up since I was tiny, from eight years old.

You make mistakes in a game, but if you come away with a win, that's all gone.