He told the Sunday Times: “It was a very tough decision to leave Arsenal.
“I have only ever had two clubs: Halmstads in Sweden, the club I joined when I was five; and Arsenal, where I’ve been for most of my adult life. I had a great relationship with the Arsenal fans, and the manager [Arsene Wenger] wanted me to stay. In my time at Highbury and in the Emirates stadium we won everything, everything except the European Cup, and in this we came so close. We played brilliantly in that final [in 2006 against Barcelona] and believed we would win, but it wasn’t to be, and that’s sad.
“But what we always had at Arsenal was a great belief and understanding that it doesn’t matter that you were man of the match last week. Today is a new game and you need to give 100% in every game. Consistency is the key. For me, I had spent nine years and I really did not think about leaving.”
