Born in Paris to Senegalese parents, Arsenal full-back Armand Traoré was a youth player at French club AS Monaco before joining Arsenal at 15. He made a handful of appearances before being loaned out to Portsmouth last season and is now a regular in Arsenal's starting XI.
As a Muslim I believe we have to look after our bodies. It is the body that has been given to you – it is not good to eat too much and get fat.
During my first two years in England I got tattoos. One on each wrist and wings on my back. I got my ears pierced. And I went to nightclubs. I don't do these things any more and this summer I plan to get my tattoos removed.
I do not do anything that causes my body harm. I do not drink or smoke. Because the tattoo on my back is so big it would take too long to remove with lasers so I am going to see if, under anaesthetic, they can remove it all at once.
I never believed I would be a professional footballer. The dream was so far up in the sky that I never really thought about it. But when I had talked with my coaches they made me realise that I could make a good living out of it.
In Monaco we trained even more than at Arsenal. We used to train at six in the morning, come back, have breakfast, then train at 10am, then train in the afternoon again. At Arsenal sometimes you have two sessions, but you never have three sessions, that is crazy.
Some players don't like gym work, but I do. You need to be able to cope with the physical side of the Premier League. We do two 45-minute sessions in the gym per week. We do circuits – weights, bench-press, pull-ups – then you have the core work, stuff for the legs. I work a lot on the endurance of my legs because I sometimes suffer from cramps.
Your body gets used to playing as much as we do. Last season at Portsmouth I was playing every three days. At first it was tough, my legs after the game were really tired and really sore. But eventually it felt good and fortunately I did not get injuries.
You learn to spread your energy. When I started to play I was giving everything and after an hour I couldn't do anything, so I had to come off. To play full-back you need stamina, because you have to support your midfield and put a few crosses in.
I am a sweet addict. I eat a lot of sweets and they give me spots – people can see straight away. I love pancakes, too. Not the thick ones.Sometimes I make my own but they don't turn out so well. We French like crêpes, with Nutella.
