I'm so excited to be joining Arsenal. It's a fantastic club, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of playing football at the highest level.
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.
Ever since I've been at Arsenal, we've had numerous quality players, and the whole squad had been very strong. It just seemed that in the big games we came up short sometimes, and you wonder why.
Arsenal are all about nice, intricate passing movements around the box, so if I shoot too much from outside the box without scoring, the boss will have a go at me!
I have been playing for England since I was 18, and while I wouldn't say I took it all for granted, it just seemed to be a part of my season - to play for Arsenal and to play for England.
When you're a young lad in a team like Arsenal, you feel like, of course, you deserve to be at the club... but you're on the periphery, and there are world-class players and more experienced players around you.
When I was going off to training and matches at Arsenal, my mum wouldn't be on the side cheering me on: she'd be working so I'd have football boots. I saw that you had to work hard if you wanted to do anything in life.
Throughout my childhood, and thanks to Arsenal's former striker Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club, so that dream has been fulfilled.
Arsenal's past appeals to me - I like clubs with a history.
I'm happy with Arsenal. I know to be in the first eleven is hard, and it is always like that in a big club, but I must keep fighting.
