On-loan Arsenal midfielder Kim Kallstrom has told Expressen he was surprised to hear of the club’s interest in him in January, but is determined to make his time left in North London a success.
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Kallstrom, 31, joined the Gunners on a temporary basis from Spartak Moscow on the final day of the winter transfer window.
However, the Sweden international has yet to make an appearance for the club, having picked up a back injury shortly before arriving.
Fit again now, having been named in the squad for Arsenal’s 6-0 loss at Chelsea on Saturday, Kallstrom has spoken for the first time about his move and dealing with his setback.
“It was nothing I could have expected. Of course I was surprised. But then I've still had a solid career, and they needed that type of player and I took the opportunity,” he said.
“[The injury] was bewildering to say the least. It went by very quickly. Then all at Arsenal took care of me very well, it's been great care and rehabilitation. Everything has been well maintained and I have received good care and rehabilitation. It has gone very well.”
Although he has yet to feature for Arsenal, Kallstrom has been nothing but impressed by what he has seen at the club.
“It’s an incredible club. It is of course the biggest club I have played for,” he said. “[Arsene Wenger’s] an amazing person. His motivation and attitude has been 100 percent."
Kallstrom could well make his Arsenal debut on Tuesday as the Gunners look to respond to the Chelsea defeat when they welcome Swansea to Emirates Stadium.
And the midfielder is determined to contribute if called upon, while he is refusing to give up hope of winning the Premier League title just yet.
“We've had some bad luck, and it's like you cannot do anything about it. But it's tough when you have many of your top players on the sidelines,” he said. “It’s about trying to get back up again with the match on Tuesday. Of course [the Chelsea loss] hurts everyone but nothing is over yet.”