when he had to leave. The club have
had to face difficulties without Arsene,
which made you realise that his job
wasn’t easy at all. You can understand
how tough it will be for Mikel Arteta to
bring Arsenal back to the elite level.
I was at the Crystal Palace game for
your scorpion kick. Was it intended
as an attempt on goal, or were you
simply trying to keep the ball alive?
Lee Pethers, via Instagram
Both! I tried to keep the ball alive, by
finishing the move and having a shot,
and had maximum efficiency with a bit
of luck. I never worked on it in training,
though people who play with me know
I love doing acrobatic moves – I loved
Jean-Pierre Papin’s overhead kicks and
have scored a couple myself. True, this
goal was so unusual! I did mean it, but
hitting the underside of the crossbar
made it that much better – it was just
one of those things. It was a very, very
special moment.
You’ve won the Champions League,
Europa League, Ligue 1, FA Cup and
World Cup – though not the Premier
League. How much of a regret is
that, and should Arsenal have won
it instead of Leicester in 2015-16?
Jade Craddock, via email
Good question. Don’t forget the Euros
with France – that’s another regret, if
I can say that. The Premier League is
just so hard to win. I understood when
I signed for Arsenal that there was so
much competition between all the top
teams, but that’s also why I wanted to
come. I knew it was going to be really
competitive, and that’s a great thing.
I wish I’d won the title, but it wasn’t to
be. [FFT: You beat Leicester in February
2016 to reduce the gap to two points- what went wrong afterwards?] That
game was incredible. It’s true that we
maybe could have won the league in
the season Leicester did, but we always
seemed to collapse around February
and March – I don’t know if it was due
to the European games, or a lack of
consistency. It was a very exciting
year; Leicester did a bit better.
How do you get your quiff to
stay in shape during games?
Ben Marsden, via Instagram
[Laughs] That’s one of the
funny things I heard after
coming to England- everyone always
asked about that!
I didn’t pay much
attention, but
I used to joke
about it with
team-mates.
My big secret?
Just wax and
a bit of hairspray.
As easy as that.
I loved you at Arsenal. You said that
leaving in 2018 was an easy decision
as you wanted more game time, but
was it difficult emotionally?
Karl Laird, Dartford
As a footballer, you’d like to leave after
the last game of the season, at home,
waving to the fans and saying goodbye
properly. For me, that was definitely
not the case. I left mid-season, at the
end of January – we’d played Swansea
away and I said goodbye then because
it was in the press that I was linked
with a move to Chelsea. But I received
a warm welcome when I eventually
went back to the Emirates Stadium.
That’s when you realise you achieved
great things at a club – when you
have the respect of the fans even
after you go. When I see them in
the streets it’s still the same, and
that’s incredibly important – to try
to leave a good mark on the pitch
and off it, too. Arsene helped
me so much in that way:
I improved tactically and
technically, but I also grew
up as a man while I was
at Arsenal.
It was really tough to
leave, but I had to make
a choice to play more –
I wanted a proper role
in France’s starting XI
at the World Cup later
that summer.I read that a friend of your mother’s
had some influence on your career
before that – even stopping a move
to Everton in 2017?
Ross Draper, Liverpool
My faith is very strong, as you know.
I’m a very positive person, even when
the situation is negative, and at that
moment I felt I needed a sign from
the Lord to help me make the correct
decision. I think I’ve managed to pick
the right ones in my career and yes,
my mum’s friend, Nicole, is someone
I talk to. I explained the situation and
asked her, “Do you think I should leave
or not? I need a sign.” She helped me
a couple of times, and at the end of
the day, they were the best decisions.
I wanted to win more trophies and be
successful, and I did it. The initial plan
was to stay in the summer of 2017,
when Arsene signed Laca [Alexandre
Lacazette], but I decided six months
later to leave for another challenge.YOU ASK
“I’D SAY IT’S A GOOD
SIGn IF YOU’RE BETTER
THAn OTHERS THInK –
IT’S ALWAYS nICE TO
PROVE PEOPLE WROnG”
FourFourTwo December 2021 9