Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has stated that he trains to "improve every day" and that he is striving "to be the best", as the Spaniard is expected to start on Tuesday night in United's long-awaited return to the Champions League.
Always want to be the best
De Gea has come a long way since he arrived from Atlético Madrid back 2011, after the youngster didn't get off to the brightest starts at The Red Devils and came under a heap of scrutiny especially in the 26-year-old's first season.
However he has gone on in those six yeards to be become one of the best goalkeepers on the planet, having been named in the PFA Team of the Year in four of the last five years including last year where he collected 15 clean sheets overall.
He kicked off the season well keeping clean sheets in the first three games of the campaign but that came to end in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Stoke City, despite the result De Gea still showed his class with his save from Jesé in the second period and stated that he still wants to improve to be one of the best.
"I always want to be the best," De Gea told his pre-match press conference. "I train hard to improve every day, in every training [session], so I work really hard to be the best keeper in the world."
"I don't know who is the best at the moment," the Spaniard stated. "But this is what I want - to be the best."
Going to be a tough test
United don't have time to feel sorry for themselves after Saturday's stalemate as they return to action on Tuesday, and it is a clash that is has been long-awaited as they return to Champions League football against FC Basel.
It has been two years since United last played in the group stages of the competition having won the Europa League against Ajax to gain their passage, Basel certainly won't be strangers to United having knocked them out in the 2011/12 season and Nemanja Matić stated their curtain raiser won't be an easy one.
“I follow football all over Europe," he said to manutd.com. "And I played against Basel during the group stage when I was at Benfica."
"I know that they’re another tough team to play against," the Serbian stated. “It’s going to be a great experience for us."
"But we have a good group with good teams," Matić concluded. "And we have to give our best to be first in the group.”