Quotes from Danny Welbeck

I've loved my time at Sunderland. It's benefited me so much, as I've just gained invaluable experience playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League and mixing it with the big boys.

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.

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.

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

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

Jack Wilshere is a prime example of how things work. He went to Bolton and did really well, then he went back to Arsenal and really kicked on. It is something quite a few of the young boys look at and think, 'If he can do it, so can we.'

In professional football, there are always going to be critics.

I've been playing for England at every single youth team level, so it's like a natural progression into the seniors, and I'm obviously delighted with my progress.

That's the most important thing - once you're on the pitch, you need to do your job properly.

I'm not just a fighter; I like to give love as well. I'm a lover, too.

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.

There were plenty of people who didn't know that I played for United. I'm not one of those people that puts themselves out there. And I was never satisfied to be playing for United at 14 or 15; I wanted to play for Manchester United's senior team.

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

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.

England against France is such a massive match; you can't get much bigger than that in European football. It's a huge rivalry.

I think it can be quite frustrating at times for anyone playing out of position, but you've just got to deal with it.

People can say I've not scored enough goals, but you see the best strikers on the wing in a four-man midfield and see if they score goals. Nobody can really criticise my finishing because they don't really see me playing in a forward position too often.

Striker is my favourite position, but once I get on the pitch, whether it's out on the wing or in the middle, I just want to enjoy my football and try and produce as good a performance as possible.

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.

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.

Sometimes you go into Nando's, and you want to tuck into the chicken wings with your fingers, but you know someone is watching you, so you don't. I'm sat there thinking, 'If these chicken wings were at home, they would get demolished!' But I've got to use a knife and fork, and you end up saying: 'Could I get a bag to take these home, please?'

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

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

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