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Former Arsenal player Gilles Grimandi has revealed that he thought he'd die while participating in a drinking session with legendary Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour. Grimandi, who represented the north London side 165 times in his career, revealed that the French and English players had different approaches when it came to drinking and smoking.
He pointed out that while English players were more comfortable drinking, French players liked smoking more. Grimandi also recounted the time he felt like dying while drinking with Parlour. The retired defensive midfielder said (via The Sun):
“I was only starting to speak English but I like good company so wanted to go. I went one day and I met many good drinkers. I said to Ray soon after, ‘I need to go home or I am going to die!’ Ray was laughing."
The Frenchman further added:
“I was very surprised. Another day, a French player was smoking and the English players were shocked. Yet the day before they were totally drunk and it wasn’t shocking. We had very different approaches to drinking and smoking.”
Grimandi won one Premier League title and two FA Cup titles during his time in north London. Apart from the Gunners, he also played for French side AS Monaco. He was also a scout for the English side from 2006 to 2019.
Gilles Grimandi speaks about Arsenal's title charges this season
Arsenal have been the Premier League's outstanding team so far this campaign. They currently have 50 points on the board after 20 games and hold a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who have played one game more.
Speaking about his former club's chances of winning the league, Grimandi had an interesting take. He said:
“To win the title, it is about confidence. You can play with the same players in a different season and you can just finish mid-table. What is important is the manager convincing the players that they can do it. That’s not easy."
He further recalled how Arsene Wenger convinced Arsenal players that they could pip Manchester United in the Premier League title race. He said:
"In that 1998 season, we were in trouble. We were behind Manchester United by a lot of points. However, even then, Arsene was convincing us that we could come back. We didn’t believe it at first but he was always convinced we could. As soon as it is in your head, when you believe you are strong enough and start to get results, you can win a title."
Arsenal next face Brentford at home on February 11.
