I moved to Liverpool in 2012, and they were really ambitious, bringing in top players. In 2013, we beat Arsenal - who seemed invincible - 4-0. It was the shock of the century.
In my time at Arsenal, we had a really good balance. We had players who were fast, players who were really strong physically, and players who were really creative. When you look at the generation of Arsenal at the moment, they may be playing better football than we used to, but they win less than we used to - so, where's the balance?
Arsenal have a great manager in Arsene Wenger, top quality players and an attractive style of play. These were all important factors in me choosing to sign for Arsenal.
I said to myself & to my coleagues at Melwood that I'd probably never play for a better club with a better players than Liverpool ever again, Then I went to Real Madrid & in 2009 we met Liverpool in the CL first knock-out round. Liverpool beat us 5-0 on aggregate. I wasn't happy because my team had lost but I was happy with my promise. I did NOT play for a better club with a better players than LIVERPOOL
I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.
Actually, the reason I'm a huge Arsenal fan is because when my dad moved over from Sri Lanka, he lived in north London and fell in love with Arsenal. Then he moved to East Grinstead and bought a pub, which he turned into an Arsenal pub.
Arsenal do not have money to spend, so they are gambling on young players. Arsenal are obliged to sell their best players and bet on youth - but what counts is having a team, great players, and a solid squad to win titles.
During my time playing for England we had Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were world-class players playing for Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, all legends of the game.
Arsenal have class. I remember when I was at Spurs, the Arsenal players would arrive for matches in their navy blazers with the gold gun emblem sewn into their pockets and grey slacks. We couldn’t match their ground with that beautiful main entrance, marble halls and spiral staircase. Even in 1961 when we won the Double, we were never as big a club as Arsenal.
With Iran, we negotiated privately in 2012-2013 from a position of strength, not a position of weakness. The secret negotiations in Oman. This ultimately led to the Joint Plan of Action of November 2013.
Finishing in the top four for Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United was easier before, but now it's getting much more difficult with the emergence of teams like Manchester City.
'In the nineteenth century, we beat the British more than once,' Afghans often told me. 'In the twentieth century, we beat the Russians. In the twenty-first, if we have to, we'll beat the Americans!'
I could have sat on the bench for a third year but I moved to West Brom from Liverpool to play. I love Liverpool and I've played a lot of games in my career so if I wanted to have a comfy life, I could have stayed at Liverpool.
Arsenal have a history of bringing through youngsters, giving them opportunities, and turning them into world-class players.
It is a shock to us in the twentieth century to discover, from observations science has made, that the fundamental mechanisms of life cannot be ascribed to natural selection, and therefore were designed. But we must deal with our shock as best we can and go on.
We're taking the top iconic characters and bringing them to life as toys that our players can buy. We know that our players would like to play in both dimensions.
Arsenal were really interested in me for a long time, and I think that I fit into the football Arsenal play.