Billy No Mates

Not so hard to understand perhaps. After spending 5 years with a particular group most of which is still intact there is bound to be a closer bond. I would imagine that Henry is also closer to some former Arsenal players than to many within his current club.

Can't blame him! JT is amazing. ;)

LOLOLOLOL he has no friends! :D

That's a good point actually Jaelle, I think there is only Lehmann in his age bracket and he isn't exactly approachable is he ...... lol

Rocky, I'm a 48 year old mom and a fitness instructor, my classes are full of nice, friendly people most of them in their 20s and early 30s, a lot in their late teens. Nice bunch of people who I enjoy talking to and having a drink with. But as I've gotten older I've found the age difference does often matter in terms of social interaction. My favorite people to hang with are a group of people in their 40s and 50s whom I've known for years. A group of us play softball and football on most weekends and we all commiserate together about those damned aches and pains that we never used to feel in our 20s. I can see Gallas relating to Terry far more than, say, Ade.

Well, not quite hard to understand really, because: a) Like he mentioned, he has spent five years at Chelsea so obviously he'll be closer to them, especially considering they are closer to his age group than 90% of the Arsenal players. b) All the Arsenal players are generally the same age, so they would probably stick together more and get closer bonds than they will with someone nearly ten years their senior. c) He was given the role of captain, so maybe, he wants the other Arsenal players to see him first and foremost as 'captain', and 'friend' second. d) If what he considers to have with the Chelsea players is 'friendship' than the ties he has with the Arsenal boys are mere 'acquaintances' in comparison, due to the close bonds you get when you've been somewhere 5 years. But the friendship with Theo is funny, seeing th big age gap, but maybe Theo is just friends with everyone! :)

Lehmann admitted the same thing a few days back, that its really Gilberto that he identifies with (coz of the family and kids connection), and he doesnt have any mates in the club. Its not really a big deal. The timing of other mischievous reports in the press, claiming that some players dont like his captaincy added to these comments from him look quite suspicious to me.

so not only do arsenal have no personallityon the pitch, behindthe scenes you are boring too......ahahaha

Right, we don't have much drama behind the scenes. Even some big shots like David Dein or Kroenke or Usmanov had to shut up because of this "boring" board we have. And they never entertain us by trying to sack our manager but keeping him until the new guy comes, having the tapping-up meetings found out in the press, only for half of the fans to boo their own manager, half of them trying to stand by him but helplessly have no results to back him up, and letting him die a slow, agonising death in front of everyone, embarrassing the club big time, being a laughing stock not just in Europe but as far as in Asian press too. Quite entertaining when it's not my club.

That's because Drogba is something else! ;-)

Regardless of whether he relates to the younsters or not, this is nt a wise thing to say at this moment or at any moment! he cannot relate then he picks on the youngest player to say he is cool with, whatever! how the hell can this statement build friendships. this cat needs be humble and play good defense. TOO BLASTED OUTSPOKEN!!!

Rocky7 u r right it is sad. If someone has no freinds its because they are not being friendly. how can you be with a team so long and have no friends. Hey there is Gilbrto, Toure, Lehman all the players are not youngsters. something is not right as he needs to be more than just a captain to these younsters but a freind also. im 36 and trust me have had to work with youth a lot and when they feel u r a friend they will respond more to ur discipline and mentoring. He does not have to hang out all the time but to say u have no friends is just not cool. He needs to shut it at times!

Have to agree with paulsito, tho: this is hardly the kind of thing to say to the press right now.

I think there's a point that has been overlooked here, as it does not seem as important, but after the 'class' demonstrated by Chelsea players and fans alike on Sunday, I felt the need to point it out. Gallas still looks up to his former teammates, respects them, and enjoys their company. Would Cashley have said the same about Arsenal? No.

I agree cheese and thats sad. This is the first time i have thought he should leave Arsenal. I was a big fan until i read these comments. I say it again u can feel this way but have to be mental to say it, its even worse when u realize that its the team who just kicked ur backside, COME ON DUDE!!

Hang on guys, is this new news, or could it be some old interview done before the Chelsea game that just got dug up in the press now? You know they're so good at recycling things to suit their agenda in a certain context.

that pic looks like marlon harewood, it isnt but they could be bro's

Yeah they do that ALL THE TIME. In some cases you can't avoid bcos some magazines are monthly and there's a time gap. But daily newspapers here deliberately do that to mislead you and sensationalise things too.

Ouch! I guess that's not what you expected Billy to say ;-)

I dont know, he seemed ok when i met him last week. He let me take a pic and didnt seem to bothered that i had stalked him.

Senderos and Gallas did play better and with sagna out..it could mean kolo to RB but Eboue could go there and theo on right wing

Personally i love Kolo. But it was a wrong decision to bring him back over Senderos. Toures last 2 performances before coming back were awful. In the ACON he was at fault for several of the goals and looked really bad, especially when he turned his back on the attacking player... Then he played poor against Man united. 4-1 and 4-0 losses respec.. Senderos had come in, had two excellent games against AC milan and good games against Wigan, Villa and Birmingham City. He looked like a Different player and deserved to keep his place. Toure has not looked as good since coming back and the defence does not look as convincing. I thought Wenger rewarded players on form by keeping their places.

Agreed, paul. I admit I've been shocked to see the deterioration of Kolo. I used to think of him as the one solidly consistent dependable player we have. I adore Kolo, sad to see this happening to him. Even a lion like him has his bad spells. I don't understand AW's thinking sometimes. He dropped Lehmann immediately after two bad mistakes in two games--never brought him back as first choice keeper. But with other players, he just doesn't show this same kind of ruthlessness. It's clear Ade should be rested or at least subbed but AW just won't do either one. Theo's been showing some positive signs of improvement but he keeps being subbed very late in games. And Senderos is clearly in form yet he gets dropped.

BMM, I'll second that thought and add a few personal observations. Prior to Billy Gallas, we had Henry as a captain and although an Arsenal legend, Thierry simply SUCKED as a captain. Moreover, most of us (Gooners) agreed on that. Now all I have seen from him on the pitch (as I saw every game) is that here is a 100% committed and motivated experienced international with a desire to lead by example and above else, win. Make no mistake, he is human and he has his fair share of issues, but who hasn't? Going not so long back to my favourite captain, Tony Adams, and his successor Big Pat Vieira, were they 'perfect' human beings in their life on and off the pitch? No. So lay off of him, he is an honest man who gives his all for the club we love. He deserves respect, especially from us Gunners, as we can be a very fickle bunch at times. By saying Terry and co. are his pals he deserves respect from the Blues fans, too. He never wrote a book slagging off any of his former teammates, never said a bad word or made a bad gesture towards their fans, never even said a bad word about Chel$ki as a club. He had probs with part of their management and leading personnel, but that is about it. Cheers.

Sorry off topic, those who have ATV or ATVO, you can watch the reserves game vs Chelsea right now. Djourou, Traore, Song, both Hoyte brothers are playing. We're leading 1-0. But I'd just like to see how the kids are doing.

Or go to Eurosport France site to watch Clichy with France A - legitimate free live video. Wow Nasri's just scored for them. The Arsenal reserve goal's scored by Song (CM), commentator said it's a well taken one. Hope he can get some 1st team games to back Flam up later.

Excellent goal by Song, Lou! It was a kind of passed curler into the bottom right corner from 20-25 yards. He didn't celebrate the goal though, in fact he looked a bit peeved off. Strange, but could be down to frustration after having such an excellent ANC, but having an injury that's moved him down in the pecking order in the short term. Just off topic, after the last few weeks, which have been quite miserable really, I feel pleasantly mellow and at ease with things now. It's like the path is clear and we now know what we have to do for the rest of the season. (And no, I haven't been eating space cake, lol)

And for once I strangely like this international break, kinda takes my mind off Arsenal, but not quite, as I'm watching Clichy in one window, the reserves in another. Like you, I'm quite relaxed really. And just imagine how the players would have needed a break too. That's why I'm glad to see Song back. Hope some of these guys could provide back-up to those first-teamers who're tiring at this stage.

I JUST WISH I COULD WATCH THIS STUFF ON ARSENAL TV!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! I follow the France squad so I'm definitely watching the France games. Just hope none of our players come back injured of course. Glad to see you guys are coping. Me? One moment I'm coping fine, next minute I just want to hit someone. That's a bitchy New Yorker for you.

what a pathetic knob you are...

You know what they say dspurs, 'you're either a w@nker or a liar'. Which one are you? Or did mummy tie your hands behind your back. Denial can be an ugly thing y'know, lol.

And judging by the picture of Gallas at the top. If he kept that pose, Arsen Wenger would definately find a use for him.

.............aahahhahahahh

And I bet i've made mo mates on here either. LOL

Well one Spur = 60,000 goons anyway. lol

I think Billy forgot that he needed to be a bit more aggressive wiht the opponents on Sunday. He may have Blue mates but it doesn't mean getting too comfy with them on the pitch. On a different tac, what is starting to get to me a bit is this continuous feed of 'excerpts' and 'interviews' with the players. Are we slowly grooming these guys into media performers? They might live under the spotlight etc but not 2 days pass without press reports on what (at least) one of our players said. It never used to be this relentless and bland. I don't really want to hear 'sensible' analyses from our players in 'plastic' interviews.

I will be your mate hahahahaha...............cant demand much respect from the team if you not even mates with them.

Just saw this on another blog, re Gallas' quotes about having "no friends" at Arsenal: "I happen to be French and have read the original piece in L’Equipe and the ‘no mates’ quote is a piece of absolute *****-stirring garbage. The question Gallas was asked was about players in the England team, of which Walcott is the only Arsenal-based, and understandably not the closest to Gallas, partly because of the generation gap, as Gallas points out. And that is all." And I guess in every other club all the players are close bosom buddies.

i think the point his making is he is friends with only english lads