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Cape Town - David Ospina says the “very warm welcome” he received upon signing for Arsenal has helped him to settle at the club.
The goalkeeper saw his first six months in London interrupted by injury, but has played and kept clean sheets in each of the Gunners’ last three English Premiership matches.
Ospina is the first Colombian to represent Arsenal and says making the adaptation to life in England has been straightforward.
“Yes, I’m very happy here,” he told Arsenal Player.
“My family has adapted really well so that’s great. England is a great country and London is a lovely city.
“Everything is a bit of a challenge in the beginning. The language is an issue of course.
“As time goes on you adapt more and more, and as I mentioned I’ve been shown a very warm welcome so that helps a lot. I hope to learn English as quickly as possible.
“I speak with all of the players here. There are quite a few French and Spanish players here, so I do end up speaking [those languages] quite a bit.
“Colombia as a country is going through a great spell in terms of its football," added Ospina. "Many Colombian players now play for big clubs in Europe.
"I feel very happy and proud to be at a great club like Arsenal. I hope that I can do well here in order to create more opportunities for Colombian players in the future.”
Arsenal host Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday at 15:30.
