Ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard admits to being Arsenal fan as a youngster due to Henry, Pires and Vieira as Real Madrid man opens up on injury lay-offs

Former Chelsea hero Eden Hazard admitted he was a fan of Arsenal growing up because of their French stars.

The Belgium International spent an illustrious seven seasons with Chelsea winning two Premier Leagues, two Europa Leagues, the FA Cup and League Cup before securing a blockbuster move to Real Madrid.

But it wasn’t the Blues who caught his attention as a youngster, it was their north London rivals.

“When I was little the team I watched the most was the French national team,” Hazard told On The Front Foot.

“For me, the players I looked up to were Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, and it’s difficult for me to admit because of my relationship with Chelsea, but I really liked the Arsenal team at the time.

“They had players like Robert Pires, [Sylvain] Wiltord and [Patrick] Vieira, so it was mainly French players that I followed growing up.”

Hazard’s time at Real Madrid has not gone to plan with injuries hampering his progress over the last 18 months.

The forward hopes to see his playing career to keep going until he is at least 36.

“I’m just hoping to play football for as long as possible, and I always try to enjoy myself on the pitch,” Hazard added.

“When it comes to the end of my career I can look back at my achievements, but my priority now is playing well and enjoying my football. I don’t think about where I will be in the next few years, I try to focus on the next match and the next training session.

“I’ve only just turned 30 so as long as my body feels good, hopefully I can keep playing for at least another five or six years.”

He added: “I’m lucky that when I’m injured and stuck at home, I have my family to get me through. It’s not the end of the world for me because I can spend time with my kids, when you’re alone and injured it can be tough but I’m lucky that I have my family to support me.

“When you’re injured there’s only so much you can do, you can work to get better faster but the injuries I have had to just take time to heal. I just have to wait, work hard to get better and when I’m at home I can enjoy the time with my family.”