David: I want to be an example

Our Spanish no.1 pulled off an outstanding stop in injury-time in our last league fixture, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side came away with a 2-1 win against the Hammers at the London Stadium. 

In an exclusive club media interview, De Gea was asked about the great stop and how it would have felt if the dramatic match-winning moment had happened at the Theatre of Dreams rather than in East London. 

"Well... to be honest, it doesn't matter where you make the save, that's what goalkeepers do, try to save penalties, make saves, help the team," David explained. 

"It would probably be amazing to do it in front of the fans at Old Trafford but the feeling is always good. I'm here to help the team, to be a leader, to be an experienced player, so I'm here to help all the time." 

The Spain international, now 30, is one of the most experienced first-team members at United, having joined the Reds back in 2011. And De Gea is determined to do all he can to pass on his knowhow to the younger members of the squad.

"Like always, I'm trying my best, trying to be an example for the young lads," our no.1 said.

"I try to train very well, to show that I'm ready and then go to the game with the same spirit, experience and quality for the team. I feel well, I fell strong, I feel confident.  I'm really happy and that's the most important thing."

And De Gea believes that having proven winners in the squad is vitally important in both creating and maintaining a winning culture, as well as developing the younger players.

"I think it's massively important to have players like me, like Cristiano [Ronaldo], Juan [Mata], Rapha [Varane] now," he emphasised.

"Experienced players know how to win big trophies, play under big pressure, big games. It's massively important for us. I think the guys already have made an impact on the team. Cristiano and Rapha are very experienced players and it's super important to have experienced players in the team."

David is now looking forward to take on Villa on Saturday and hopefully build on that impressive away result against the Hammers last weekend. 

"Well, it's always difficult to get three points away in the Premier League, so it was a massive three points for us," he acknowledged. 

"Now we have another big game on Saturday, Villa's a difficult team. They play well, it's always hard. But we feel confident, strong, so let's see. We play at home, so for us, with the fans, it's going to be a great game.

"It's great to win games, especially because, like I said before, every game in the Premier League is really difficult to win. So, let's be focused on the next game, focus on training. The whole squad is ready to play, we have confidence, the feeling is strong and we're ready for the game." 

De Gea is particularly excited to once again play in front of the United faithful at a packed Old Trafford, after two incredible atmospheres against Leeds United and Newcastle United in our two Premier League home matches so far this campaign. 

"It's amazing. It's been unbelievable, to be honest," the Spaniard beamed when asked about our supporters. 

"To be on the pitch, in front of the fans, a full stadium when the atmosphere's electric... it's unbelievable. It's difficult to describe with words. To be there, to play at Old Trafford, it's amazing. It's good for us, they help us a lot. They're always behind the team, helping us, so it's great to have them back."