I just wanted to get back to playing attacking football after my time in Italy. It was a little difficult at first but the atmosphere and the fans were just fantastic.

I just wanted to get back to playing attacking football after my time in Italy. It was a little difficult at first but the atmosphere and the fans were just fantastic.

When you beat a team so often – especially like this season when Chelsea had already lost three times to us – you know people expect you to do it again. But you also know they’re going to be even more motivated to finally win.

I think these awards are always nice for a player but they also reflect well on the club. It shows that Arsenal’s performance have been noted all around the world and it helps by having so many good players around me.

It will be a hard game if you think about winning a championship. We need to think about our own game at the moment and focus on getting good results especially over the Christmas period.

Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me.

Our two biggest rivals had adjusted their whole season to this one aim of beating us. Of course, it is a big compliment that they were so motivated to stop us but it was very tough to face two matches like that so close together. Suddenly three trophies are down to one.

The regular things in my life now – training sessions and playing matches – will all fall away. That will leave a big empty space and it will need to be filled.

So I took it as a very positive sign that the club came to me rather than the other way round.

I think it is time to call it a day, and watch the game from the stands.

I don’t want to lose myself in football and that’s what a coach has to do to be successful.

In Holland and Spain and France, where so many of us come from, people aren’t interested in the sex lives of their players. We don’t hear these stories – even in Italy where the media is right on top of football.

My aim is to play as many games as possible and to go out and be one of the 11 players again.

So here, at Arsenal, we are often surprised when we are shown some of the newspapers, and at the bottom of an article there is a line saying if you know of anyone who had an affair with a player, call this number. It is very strange to us.

We’re still a great team. In your mind you can understand that but, emotionally, we needed to express the same belief. We came out full of fire and scored two early goals, two really beautiful goals, and that changed everything.

I love playing football, being out on the pitch with a ball, and I will be a little sad when that ends.

Sometimes you feel the emotion. You think this might be my last pre-season or my last Champions League match. But, overall, those thoughts aren’t important right now. But the time will soon come.

What a ball from Frank. Frank and I go back years. He used to do that when I was at Ajax.