I was born on 6th August 1983 in
Kralingen, Rotterdam.
I have a very creative family. Both my parents are artists. My mum is also an
art teacher and has an art gallery and runs workshops. My dad creates unique
pieces of art/sculptures that can be viewed in various galleries. I am the
youngest of three children. My eldest sister Kiki is a mum of two lovely
children. She has a fashion degree and at present teaches at a Fashion Academy
in Rotterdam.
Her true passion lies in creating her own designs and in time her own brand. My
other sister Lilly has a degree in creative therapy and Art psychotherapy. She
is extremely well travelled and has enjoyed places such as India and South Africa. During such visits
she would volunteer to work for charitable organisations that involves orphans.
So as you can see the creativity runs throughout the family.
I have always been very sporty. I
enjoy table tennis, swimming and tennis. When I used to go to school, I was
always walking and keeping the ball up at the same time. I was always at my
happiest when I was playing football in the streets. I always remember the guys
from my neighbourhood competing against other local teams. We would play in
‘the Cage’ and the competition between us was fierce. We would gather there and
play ‘Goal to Goal’ and ‘Amerikaantje’.
At the age of 13 I attended Thorbecke High School, this is a special sports
school that worked together with Feyenoord. The school was specifically for
talented children who excelled in sports. I would wake up at 6.30am and rush to
leave the flat. With both my schoolbag and sportsbag to carry I would catch the
tram to Voorschoterlaan, and then the tube to Prinsenland. A typical day for me
at school would begin with 3 hours of lessons in the morning. We would then be
driven to Feyenoord’s youth training ground for a 1,5 hour football session and
then back to school for a further 3 hours of study. Depending on which day I
would also have either a further football session after school or a match. This
went on until I was 17 years old.
When I was 19 years old I met
Bouchra, who was studying Communication and Accountancy at University. Two
years later on 31st March 2004 we married in Rotterdam,
and 3 months after we moved to London
and my career at Arsenal began. Our first years in London were very hard. As you can imagine we
were young, it was our first time living abroad and we were missing our family
and friends. As time progressed I got to play more regularly for the team and
we got to experience and enjoy London.
It did not take long for us to fall in love with the city and call London our home.
On 16th November 2006 our son
Shaqueel was born. This was a life changing moment for me and at that time
without doubt the best moment of my life. I fell in love with him from the
moment I saw him. The older he gets the cheekier he becomes, in fact he reminds
me a lot of myself.
On 10th October 2009 was the next
best moment in my life. Our second child was born, our beautiful daughter Dina
Layla. She is a real daddy’s girl and is and always will be my little princess.
Away from football my life is
devoted to my family. With the free time I have there is nothing I enjoy more
than spending time with them and playing with the kids. Every day is a new
experience and I could not be any prouder of my family than I am already.
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