Quotes from Robin Van Persie

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

Of course I love silverware in my football career. But sometimes you can't rush from A to Z.

Now I know a lot about my body, like how important it is to eat well, as it makes you stronger in the end and helps prevent injuries. Or when you train, do you just start to shoot, or do you have a good warm-up first?

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.

I'm home. I hope the Manchester United fans forgive me for being late.

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.

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.

Midfielders, on average, get somewhere between half a second and a second to think before they have to move the ball on. For strikers, however, it is significantly less: between 0.1 and 0.2 of a second before a defender is on them.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

I want to play as long as possible at the highest level.

I highly appreciate the work of Ed Woodward, the CEO of Manchester United.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What I need to address are the situations when people are taking it upon themselves to think for me, make assumptions, or interpret things as if they are me. Last time I checked, my head was still attached to my body, so I'm the only one who knows exactly what I'm feeling, and that is not what I or the fans have been reading.