Kim Kallstrom says it was a 'dream come true' to play for Arsenal after finally making debut in 2-2 draw with Swansea

Veteran Sweden midfielder joined the club with a back injury on deadline day

James Orr
Wednesday 26 March 2014 08:37 EDT
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Kim Kallstrom looks on during his Arsenal debut
Kim Kallstrom looks on during his Arsenal debut

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After making his long-awaited debut for Arsenal in the disappointing 2-2 draw with Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, on loan midfielder Kim Kallstrom claimed it was a "dream come true" to play for the club.

The 31-year-old Swede joined Arsenal from Spartak Moscow for the remainder of the season on deadline day in January despite a scan showing that he had a back injury. Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger had said that had he known about the injury he would not have signed Kallstrom, but it was too late to sign anyone else.

Kallstrom came on with 11 minutes left for Tomas Rosicky to make his first appearance for the club in the painful draw, and says he "felt good" coming on and is now ready to "contribute" the rest of the season.

"For me, it felt really good coming on," he told Expressen. "I had a lot of time with the ball, I had some clean passes. I was involved and I'm just pleased to be out there playing.

"It's exciting, and it's like a dream come true to play for Arsenal in the Premier League. I'm just unhappy my debut didn't end in a win. Everything felt good for me, obviously except their last goal and the last minutes of the match."

Kallstrom added that the speed of the Premier League will suit his style of play.

"It's a very high level and I'm really looking forward to contributing to Arsenal. It was a special moment for me making my debut for this great club.

"It's only good players here in the Premier League. There is a lot of quality, that is immediately obvious. It's high speed and tough play, which I like."

Kallstrom claimed that the Mathieu Flamini's injury-time own goal. which left the Gunners title hopes in tatters, was down to "bad luck".

"He had some bad luck on the late goal," he said. "It's hard to analyse so close after the game. The ball has bounced on our keeper, defender and midfielder, it's just bad luck. We did well to get the game back to 2-1, and we are all disappointed with the result."

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