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Kim Kallstrom insists he treasures Arsenal spell

Kim Kallstrom says he treasures his time with Arsenal.

He landed in London in 2014 with a back injury which restricted him to four appearances for his new club.

But one of those was the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan with Kallstrom scoring a penalty in Arsenal's 4-2 shoot-out win.

"I look back on those moments fondly because when I reflect on it now, I never really felt like an Arsenal player," he told the club's official website.

"I remember the FA Cup celebrations and feeling like a real outsider looking inside. I was a part of it, sure, but not really.

"That semi-final... I'd been in the squad for almost all the games before, so I expected to be in the squad because of injuries.

"At the time, I didn't know how significant that game was because for me, Arsenal was a club that collected trophies all the time. I had the Invincibles and the Freddie Ljungberg era in my head, so I didn't understand that there had been so much time since the last trophy.

"The pressure to win one was very big, so obviously all the coaches felt that but I had no knowledge of it at the time.

"I was just in the right place at the right time because I think they missed their first or second penalty and it's much easier to take one after your opponent misses. But what I'll always remember is walking up to that ball from the halfway line.

"That penalty changed the experience for me massively. I came here, was injured and didn't play a lot. Sure, that's part of the game, but then when you score the penalty at least you've participated in some way. It was an important trophy for the club, so it was great fun for me.

"I'd say in terms of career highlights, that penalty is right up there. Mostly because of the size of the club, but also because it was such a weird moment."

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Paul Vegas

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