"According to reports in some quarters, I'm on the verge of quitting Arsenal. Rubbish. I'm perfectly happy at Highbury and there is no problem between me and Arsene Wenger at all.

"I understand that some comments from my agent, Rob Jansen, have been picked up in the press. I think you need to understand that my agent deals with different people to me at Arsenal so that's why he may have different information to me.

"I only deal with Mr Wenger at Arsenal on transfer or contract matters. He is the man that knows about football so he is the only person I would ever want to speak to. Agents, however, obviously deal with people from the boardroom level, in this case David Dein.

"Now, Mr Wenger has always made it quite clear that he wants to keep me at Arsenal. He has always said that to my face and has also said the same things to the media. He isn't the type to say things to you that he doesn't mean, so I believe that Mr Wenger wants me at Arsenal.

"Maybe my agent has other information. Perhaps he has got another impression of things from Mr Dein. Of course, this would be a surprise for me because Mr Dein has always been friendly to me and given me no indication that he wants me to leave.

"It would hurt if anyone at Arsenal wanted to sell me because I feel I've given and continue to give a great deal to this club. It would hurt for two reasons: firstly because it would mean they had a different opinion to the boss on a crucial matter and secondly because it would mean that even though I've done a great deal for this club, I was being asked to leave.

"As I say, I have no reason to think that Mr Wenger wants me to leave. Maybe someone else at the club has a different feeling, but as long as Mr Wenger is happy with me, that's good enough for me.

"Each year, you look at what you've achieved and what you can go on to achieve. Earlier this year, I made a decision to sign a new contract that would keep me here for two years. I've won trophies here and my ambition is to win more. The fans were also key in this decision because they've always been fantastic to me.

"Turning to my ankle injury, I can feel it getting better every day. After today's session, it felt even stronger, but I don't know if I'll be able to take part against Southampton. We have a lot of important games on the horizon and it may be that they won't risk me. We'll wait and see. But I want to make it quite clear that I love playing at Arsenal and have no intention of quitting, whatever you hear or read."