Ray Parlour

He [Gilles Grimandi] loved the atmosphere [at Arsenal]. He explained that in France it is totally different. It's a job, they all come in, do their work, and don't necessarily speak to each other. They would go and train, have a shower and then that's it, go home. So we were trying to get it across to the French lads that we're all mates, we can all have a laugh. Manu Petit [Emmanuel Petit] didn't get it to start with. I'm sure it was just that he wasn't used to it rather than arrogance, but when we would come in we would say, 'Morning' and not get much of a response. Once he had more or less ignored a lot of the lads, we told him we might want to cut his ponytail off if he kept blanking people. After that he was good as gold. 'Good mornings' all round to everyone every day! Show less «

One pre-season we went out and, um, we went in and Gilles Grimandi came in the bar, he said, "Can I come out with you English guys?" Steve Bould - it was 5 of us - and he said, "Can I have 35 pints, please?" And we had seven each and Gilles Grimandi had a small glass of wine. He was looking at us, going, "Who are they for? Is anybody else coming?" I said, "No, that's seven each, Gilles, that's like, that's a warm up." And he couldn't believe what he was seeing. But then, a lot of French guys used to smoke, believe it or not. Manu Petit [Emmanuel Petit], he used to smoke, and Patrick Vieira every now and again... I never smoked in my life, but... So there were different mentalities, and that year we won the double, believe it or not. We was all smoking, we was all drinking, we won the double in '98. Show less «

He [Thierry Henry] was quiet as a mouse to start with. I used to call him Terry. He used to look back at me, I wasn't sure what he thought of that to start with. Once he settled in we used to muck about a lot. I taught him a bit of London slang. He loved imitating it. Dog and bone, phone, and all that. Show less «

Arsène's [Arsène Wenger] ways helped me to change as a footballer and a person. He is a very genuine man. He didn't want to hold anyone back. Go out and play. You had to be organised and know what you were doing, but he did want you to express yourself, without worrying about mistakes. He stressed how he wanted us to be positive and trust our own ability. He was an extraordinary character. I loved him to bits. Show less «

I remember not having a drink for 12 or 13 days on tour, really concentrating. I'm feeling so fit, everybody's saying this is fantastic, we're really looking fit now and great. So the last night we have a meeting, he's [Arsène Wenger] really happy, says what a great camp we've had, fantastic, we're going home tomorrow so you guys can do whatever you like tonight, go to the pub, because he knew you had a beer every now and then. Off we went, I remember Steve Bould was in our team at the time, and Gilles Grimandi had just signed for us, one of the French lads we had Remi Garde, Gilles Grimandi, Patrick Vieira, Manu Petit [Emmanuel Petit]. So they was all going that way, to the coffee shop, and the English lads were all going to the pub, so that was the difference. So Gilles Grimandi went, he was a really good lad, Gilles, he went: "Do you mind if I come out with you guys?" I went "Yeah, Gilles, you'll have a much better time with us". So as we walked into the pub, I always remember Steve Bould coming up to the bar, there was probably five of us, and Gilles Grimandi. Steve Bould went to Gilles Grimandi, "What do you want to drink?" He goes: "Small glass of wine". - "OK, no problem. Small glass of wine..." and he went "35 pints as well". And there was only five of us. And they lined them all up, like that... And Gilles Grimandi was like this... I always remember his face, he went: "Is anybody else coming?" I went: "No, this is it, Gilles. 7 each"... - "What?!". He couldn't get his head round it, the lads, the first two didn't touch the sides. He was like this: "I can't believe you can drink that much" and all that. Anyway, so now we're a little bit tipsy 'coz we haven't had a drink for 12 days. So we're walking down to the next pub, we're going to go to another pub now, and I remember walking past all the French lads and they're all smoking. A lot of them, Patrick and Manu Petit and I'm thinking, how can we win the league this year? We're all drinking and they're all smoking and what happened? We win the Double that year, so it just shows you that sometimes you can let your hair down it doesn't harm you too much and I think the French lads really enjoyed being around the English lads, the mentality was totally different, it was more of a family in England than it was in France when they was there, it was more of a job for them in France. In England it was more mates as well as being a job. Show less «

There was such a great team spirit [at Arsenal] then. No bickering and picking on each other. People often used to ask what the camaraderie was like, assuming with the mix of French and English and Dutch and African and all sorts that it might not work or that there would be cliques. But it was brilliant. Everybody respected where everyone else came from and the most important instinct was that we were all a team together. Show less «

I think the foreign lads [at Arsenal] changed it. The foreign lads changed the situation. Different mentality. The English lads would all go out, you know, have a pint after the game and don't think nothing of it. The French lads, woah... "What are you drinking all that for?" They couldn't understand. It's only mentalities. But then they might have a cigarette and we'd be like that: "Why are they smoking for?" Show less «

Thierry [Henry] took me to Nike Town once. I was happy to go along. I was after a couple of golf clubs. Tiger Woods was sponsored by Nike and they had some great gear. When we got there, they had roped it all off. Thierry Henry was coming so they closed this massive store. He was with his mum and I was with my missus, Jo. We walked in and he told us to go around and pick out some stuff. Anything we want. Thanks, Thierry! [...] As we got to the reception area, there was Thierry and his mum with one pair of trainers each. That was it. My trolley was overflowing with gear. The man from Nike packed it all in my car and I thought: "This is unbelievable, about £3,000's worth of Nike gear. What a service!" As I drove past Thierry's car I wound the window down and said: "Thierry, what are you doing next week?" - "I'm not coming here with you!" Show less «

It has been well documented that Arsène [Wenger] introduced a lot of changes about diet and how we were refuelling. I didn't mind vegetables and all that, so I liked it. I didn't eat chocolate anyway, but Nigel Winterburn and some of the others wanted their treats. They'd still get chocolate and put it in their bag. Those guys were 30 years old. It's harder to change your habits when you're that age. But we were coming out of a different era. We had an eating competition once on the way back from Newcastle. It was a six-hour journey so we were like: "What should we do today? Let's have an eating contest." No reason, really, it was just something to do. We must have had about eight dinners. Bouldy [Steve Bould] won by a mile: he had nine. In the end we had to stop, a few of the players were being sick outside the coach. But under Arsène those days were becoming history. Show less «

I used to call him [Arsène Wenger] Inspector Clouseau. He'd fall over the nets, get tangled up, couldn't get the balls out. I used to love Peter Sellers, I used to watch all the Pink Panther films when I was younger and Clouseau was my favourite character. Wenger shared some of those foibles, so I couldn't resist choosing that nickname. Show less «

The other question that is almost as hard is when people ask who is the crème de la crème of Arsenal players, the best ever? The favourites are Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, but who to pick? It's too hard. It's a toss of a coin. Thierry is a great lad and very intelligent, which is why I think he can make a manager one day. He is not short of opinions. There was a spell when he was unmarkable. The only thing Dennis did differently for me is he transformed the nature of the club with his professionalism. Of course, Dennis was also special to play with. He could read your mind. Show less «