Arsenal fullback Armand Traore admits he expected to leave on-loan this month.

However after speaking to manager Arsène Wenger the 20-year-old decided to wait for a first-team opportunity with the Gunners.

"I've always spoken about taking my chances at Arsenal," he told Arsenal TV Online.

"Now I've had a little bit of a run in the team and it's gone well and I'm feeling more and more confident every time I play.

"At the start of the season the boss asked me to be patient so when I had the chance to go on loan I decided to wait until the winter transfer window and see what happens.

"Until the time I started playing I was convinced I was going to go on loan in January but then we had a few injuries at left-back so I had to come in.

"When you have to come in you have to prove to everyone that you can play so it was a bit of a tricky situation but it went well."