Jay Bothroyd
Bothroyd says any young footballer can learn a lot at Arsenal. REUTERS

Jay Bothroyd is still particularly fond of his youth days at Arsenal, with the QPR striker revealing he would recommend any young player to make the move to the north London club if they hope to further their career.

Bothroyd was at Arsenal until 2000, when he was sold to Coventry for £1 million. He left the Gunners due to disciplinary problems, with the youngster throwing his shirt at coach Don How in an under 19 match.

But Bothroyd has since learnt the error of his ways, and says that his time in Italy playing for Perugia helped him become more motivated to achieve his goals.

Of his time in the country, Bothroyd said: "I learnt what it means to them, they live, sleep and eat surrounded by football, everything is to do with football.

"Their grandmothers, their nans, they all know about Serie A.

"It was a really good experience and when I came back here, I definitely felt more equipped for the English game, so I worked harder and trained harder to achieve what I want."

Speaking at the UK final of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, Bothroyd said that his time at Arsenal were some of the best he's experienced in professional football.

"Playing for Arsenal, growing up, it was fun and we had a great team," he mused.

"I'd always recommend young players to go to Arsenal because they've got a good footballing education."

Bothroyd has one England cap to his name, getting a chance under Fabio Capello's reign in 2010. He was the first Football League player to represent England, leaving Cardiff at the time for international duty. And though he admits it would be a dream to play in the Euros this year, the 29 year old is concentrating on making a comeback from injury.

"I'm not thinking about [the Euros] to be honest, I've just come back from injury so I'm just focused on getting myself established and keep going from there," he said.

"Obviously it's a big ask for me to get into the Euros now, it every English player's dream to play in the competition but at the moment I'm not focusing on that."

Dickson Etuhu and Jay Bothroyd attended the UK final of the FIFA Interactive World Cup on EA SPORTS' FIFA 12, which was won by Ty Walton. Players can still compete online through their PLAYSTATION 3. For more information, visit www.fifa.com/fiwc

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