‘Playing against Sneijder was so good’

Gedion Zelalem says playing against Dutch international Wesley Sneijder made his Champions League debut even more special.

The teenager made his European bow against Galatasaray on Tuesday night, replacing Mathieu Flamini at half-time in Arsenal’s convincing 4-1 victory.

Zelalem says the experience was “fantastic” and believes he can learn a lot from Sneijder’s game.

“He’s won the Champions League, so to be able to play against him was very good,” the midfielder told Arsenal Player. “He’s a top player and hopefully I can win the Champions League as well one day.

“I can learn from the way he switches the ball, his quick feet and things like that.

“All your life you work for this moment, so to be able to play was very good. You dream of that as a boy - coming on in the Champions League. I was watching it last year and now I’m playing in it, so it’s great.

“Everyone knows that it’s a special competition and everyone wants to win it. Being able to play in it is very good for me and hopefully I can do that in the future.”