William Gallas, just back from his holidays in Guadeloupe, is feeling confident and relaxed, but also very determined as the new season with Arsenal approaches. The French international talks to us openly about the transfer season, the Baby-Gunners etc..
William, how were your holidays in Guadeloupe?
Great, really. It was lovely but it’s always too short. I went to see my parents in Saint Anne and I rested with the family for a while. Everything is so peaceful over there… We can spend hours talking about lots of things, enjoying life with my aunties and all our friends and relations. We talked about the situation on the Island, the way things are changing, but we must admit that there are lots of different problems in Guadeloupe…
What do you mean by that?
It’s an Island of paradoxes actually! Because it’s both paradise in terms of the scenery, lifestyle, countryside, but there’s also another side to the coin. In my opinion, the people who govern Guadeloupe, who represent it, are not going in the same direction as the population and nobody is going the same way. It’s a bit worrying.
Regarding Guadeloupe, did you follow the Gwada Boys in the Gold Cup?
Yes, they showed everyone that Guadeloupe is a fountain of sportsmen and women. When you see what Jocelyn Angloma achieved at 42 years of age, it makes you think. I’d like to continue that long but I’m not sure my legs will keep up with me…
You really seem to love this Island…
There’s no doubt about that. I love Guadeloupe and I have a lot of plans involving this Island after my career as a professional footballer. The people are very welcoming, and what I like a lot, is that I can walk down the street without being disturbed. The people recognise me, encourage me, but they respect my privacy. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t live here all year round but, after my career, I think I’d like to live here for six months of the year…
Now the holidays are over, it’s time to return to Arsenal.
Yes, I start training again on Wednesday. The Arsenal trainers had prepared a program for me to follow but I haven’t really taken it into account (laughs). I’m at an age where I know my body very well so everyday during my holidays I did a 45-minute run and some gym.
What is the training program?
We’re going to slowly get back to fitness and gradually improve our strength. We’ll first have to find our pace again without getting injured in the first two weeks. The rest of the season depends on that. When you’re professional, you need to know how to handle your efforts… Anyway, the preparation will be the same as usual, because at the moment nobody has definitely qualified for Euro 2008 apart from the host countries.
Arsenal will be without Thierry Henry this year…
Yes, I followed the news from my holiday house. I knew there was a possibility of him leaving and I wasn’t surprised. It’s nevertheless hard to see an Arsenal icon leave. However, the club will have some explaining to do to the players after this departure. As for me, I’m not playing for the Gunners to finish 3rd, so they’ll have to recruit some good players because the younger players are very talented but a season is very, very long for them. We probably expect too much from them as we’ll be playing the FA Cup, the Carling Cup, the Premiership and the Champions League.
Will Henry’s departure have an impact on your future with Arsenal?
There’s no question of that. I’m at Arsenal at the moment but who knows what could happen tomorrow. Everything changes so quickly in football… One thing is for sure, many players have some questions about the club’s future. All the other teams seem to be recruiting but has anything been planned to make up for the loss of Titi Henry? The younger players want to win but Arsenal has to get results, win titles to ensure its long-term survival, otherwise the club will have to change its policies and do like the other teams: recruit with big money. However, we must not forget that the construction of the Emirates Stadium cost the management a lot of money and we’re paying for that now. For my part, I’ll talk to Arsène Wenger and some of the managers to find out what the club’s objectives are this season and what they hope to create in order to construct an even more competitive team.
