It's great
to see my Chelsea
friends, I
don't have any at Arsenal - Gunners captain Gallas's surprise
admission.
Old friends: Terry and Gallas
embrace after Chelsea's victory over the Gunners
Arsenal captain William Gallas has made the remarkable
claim that he has no true friends within Arsene Wenger's squad and
admitted that he is an awe of former Chelsea team-mate John
Terry.
Gallas hopes to be in the France team to face England in Paris
tomorrow night and will renew acquaintances with Terry, Joe Cole
and Frank Lampard just days after Chelsea ended Arsenal's Barclays
Premier League title hopes with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Asked by a French newspaper who his mates were at Arsenal,
Gallas said: "Mates? Well, they are more like acquaintances. At
Arsenal there is Theo Walcott but he is very young.
"Really, it's the guys at Chelsea like Frank Lampard, John
Terry, Wayne Bridge and Joe Cole. It always gives me pleasure to
see them again. "We all have our own lives but when we see each
other - especially Terry - we always like to spend some time
talking together.
"After all, I spent five years by their sides. There is always
something between us. John Terry in particular. I like his
mentality. He is a real warrior. "In fact he is an example to me
even though he is much younger than me."
Gallas' peculiar reaction could possibly be explained by a
suggestion that he understood the question to refer to English
mates at Arsenal. Either way, his comments are unlikely to go down
well at the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile the central defender also made it clear just how
important tonight's friendly match is to the French team. Gallas
said: "Matches with France are always very important and this is
England so it's even more important. The stadium will be full.
"This is more than simply a friendly as for some players there
is always extra motivation against England. "We appreciate each
other as players but at the same time we want to show that we are
better than them."
