Marcus Rashford says his Manchester United career changed after scoring two goals against Arsenal in 2016.
An injury crisis saw Louis van Gaal hand the then-teenager his Premier League debut in a meeting with the Gunners.
Rashford found the net twice in the first half as United ran out 3-2 winners at Old Trafford.
And the England international, who has scored 10 times in the top flight this term, has reflected on the impact of that performance.
"Everything changed after the Arsenal game," he told the Guardian. "Me and my friends used to always go to this thing called Soccer Dome to play five-a-side, and to get to it, you have to go through the Trafford Centre.
"I was just going to do that, and we were stuck for an hour, me and my friends, 18-year-old kids and just swarms of people. Now, I just don’t put myself in that situation.
"For example, say I need to go and get milk, my friend will have to go for me. If I go to the shop, a two-minute job can turn into 20 minutes. It’s weird. But it’s part and parcel of it, and it helps you grow up. You have to grow up fast."
Rashford also explained how he processes defeats, having initially been adversely affected by United losses.
"As a player, you have to take yourself out of the emotion," he added. "It’s natural, if you’re a fan: if the team wins, they must have done well; if they lose, they’ve done something wrong.
"But once you get caught up in that, as a player, you’re finished. It’s too up-and-down. You have to have a middle. If you win, it doesn’t mean you go crazy until the next game. If you lose, it doesn’t mean you sit moping. You have to find a balance, and you always go back to what you know.
"In the past, when we lost games and other players were just getting on with their day, I couldn’t get my head around it. Some people don’t have that connection I have with the club.
"That’s fine, they still give 100%. But it’s different for me. I’m a fan, I went to matches. And then probably eight months ago, things started to click. I’d got stuck in that up-and-down phase for too long.
"And it’s no good, cos you’re going to training the next day and if you’re still thinking about the day before, you can’t do your best. The games are a chance to showcase it, but the development’s done on the training pitch."
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