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'Santi's skills are amazing to watch'

The players answer questions at Members' Day

The first-team squad took part in a series of Q&A sessions with fans at this year's Members' Day at Emirates Stadium. Here are the very best quotes:

on the best German player he’s played with…
PM: There’s a lot of great players. I’ve never played with Lothar Matthaus. It was Miroslav Klose because he’s scored more than 60 goals for Germany and is our all-time leading goalscorer. He overtook Gerd Muller. I never played with Gerd Muller.

on the toughest player to defend against…
LK: Maybe Didier Drogba. He’s very strong, he can keep the ball with his body, he has good technique. You know when you played against Chelsea it was always very hard because it was a big fight against him.

on who the toughest defender to face is…
OG: In front of Petr, maybe Ivanovic or Kompany from Manchester City. It’s always a tough game against them, a big fight. It was always in good spirits but always very tough.

on maintaining hunger in the FA Cup…
TW: We have only been together for three or four weeks, and the vibe in the dressing room is that we want to do well this year. Retaining the FA Cup is a big achievement and we want to do that again. A lot of our priority this season is to challenge for the Premier League and that will determine where we will be this season. Lastly we want a good Champions League run, we were disappointed last season when we went out but our main target is the Premier League. That is our biggest goal.

on how they work on their weaker foot…
OG: My coaches in the past used to say that you have to work on your qualities. It could be surprising but you need to work on your best qualities, so I try to work more on my left foot. I try to use my right as well. You can always improve your best qualities. I used my right foot sometimes last year and scored a few goals.

PC: Usually what you do with your strong foot, you double it with your weaker foot and you might have a chance to equal your stronger foot.

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on who the most improved player is at Arsenal…
PM: Last season we had Hector Bellerin stepping up and Francis Coquelin in the second half of the season. These are two young players who got their chance to step up and performed really well. It gave us a lot of energy when it was needed because we went through the first part of the season with a lot of injuries, so there’s a lot more to come from them this season.

on Santi Cazorla improving…
PM: He stands out every year. He played more on the wing when he first arrived and now he’s more central, sitting and creating the chances from even deeper. He’s controlling the game and his skills with the ball is absolutely amazing to watch, but to play alongside him is even better.

"Santi stands out every year... we really enjoy watching him play in different positions and improving"

Per Mertesacker

, but he already set such a high standard when he first arrived.

on Jeff Reine-Adelaide…
OG: I knew that he was the Under-17 European Championship winning side last summer. We have seen him on the pitch recently and he has shown his qualities. I think he’s quite mature for his age. He’s good a really good mentality and if he’s listening to the advice around him from his team-mates, he could improve very quickly. His potential is fantastic.

on whether Arsenal players ever argue…
PM: Sometimes, yes. In the dressing room a lot, on the pitch a lot, but we need to forget about what happened on the pitch at the end of the game and in the dressing room after it’s fine ag ain. We don’t take it into the dressing room and that is very important. If you shout at someone, you leave it on the pitch. That’s the place for emotions so it’s good to argue on the pitch, and it’s good to have different opinions, but when you leave the pitch you need to forget about it.

on who his inspiration is…
LK: When I was younger I loved Chris Waddle. He played for Marseille before and when I was younger I was a big Marseille fan. He wasn’t a defender though and when I started playing I was a striker, then a midfielder, and then ended up in defence. I don’t have an inspiration now but he was mine when I was younger.

on the accordion factory…
LK: They work very hard to make money and we are the people who work inside to help, and develop an enterprise.

on who he would sign…
LK: I can’t answer that. If it’s an old player then I would say Zidane. It would probably be Messi or Ronaldo now because they are both the best players in the world.

on who his best friend is at Arsenal…
OG: I don’t have a best mate because I have a good understanding with all of my team-mates. I wouldn’t say one because I speak with all my team-mates. Maybe the French guys like Laurent or Mathieu Debuchy, Francis… French solidarity.

on the BFG chant…
PM: I like it. It’s simple, ‘Big Friendly Giant’.

on who has the best celebration in the Premier League…
OG: I would say maybe Aaron Ramsey when he tried to knee slide but he missed it and didn’t slide.

on whether he always wanted to be a footballer…
PC: I wanted to be an ice hockey player but then I played it and I ended up playing football instead. I obviously don’t regret it. I’m pretty happy with my decision. It’s as big as football in the Czech Republic so it was a big decision to make.

on playing in the Emirates Cup…
JRA: It was a great feeling to play, and the whole team made me feel comfortable. I felt really good.

on advice for young players on movement…
TW: How old are you? Seen? I never stayed still when I was seven and I bet you don’t either! My advice for you would be to never stay still, never let your defenders have an easy target, always keep on the move, always keep thinking and most of all enjoy it.

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