Former Arsenal loanee Kim Kallstrom has opened up about his brief time at the Emirates Stadium.
The midfielder spent six months with the Gunners after signing on loan from Spartak Moscow in January 2014, but a back injury meant that he made just four appearances in all competitions in an Arsenal shirt before returning to Russia.
Writing on the official Arsenal website, the 37-year-old, who was part of the FA Cup winning squad, outlined what it was like joining the club half-way through the season.
“I had signed for a few teams in my career but it was definitely a different approach going into the dressing room as a January loan signing,” he said.
“Everyone there knew I was only there as a back-up option because they were lacking bodies so to speak. Outside of football, you don't have a permanent residence, I just treated it like an adventure.
“There were a lot of French players there and obviously the boss, lots of people around the club who could speak French too.
“I speak French because of my time at Lyon so that helped. I'd made my name in France, so that made it easier because they recognised me - and Nicklas Bendtner was there so I could speak Swedish and Danish with him. It made it a bit easier to adapt fast.”
And there were a few players in particular who left an impression on the midfielder, with one teaching the experienced player more than any others.
“There were also a couple of players who were injured at the same time as me. Aaron Ramsey was one of them. In one way it was good to have that experience with an injury because you're at the training ground a lot more and you meet all the people around the club. When the players left, I stayed after training to make sure I had a good rehab,” he added.
“I was surrounded by Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, these guys who were so skilful. It was nice to see them every day at work.
“People are so professional. I played alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a long time and he's a real pro, but then I came here and I saw how professional Mikel Arteta is... wow. He is so committed to the game and so engaged with it as well, I learned a lot just from watching him.”
