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team playing around me. I can adjust. I mentioned
Wim Jonk but I also had it with many players at
Arsenal. Patrick Vieira had a great eye for it, Cesc too,
and Freddie of course is a great example. During the
2002 'double' season it was unstoppable. Freddie
would make the run, I would make the pass, and it
would be a goal. You needed both parts of it.
As well as partnerships on the pitch, I've also made
many great friendships off it too with past team
mates. Ray Parlour and Ian Wright were great
characters in the changing room, and always made
me laugh. I'm looking forward to seeing Edu again
too, because I haven't seen him since he left Arsenal.
There's Patrick Vieira as well of course, and there are
some Ajax players that I haven't seen for ages. There
are so many.
People like David Seaman, Nigel Winterburn, Lee
Dixon, Martin Keown I was lucky enough to keep in
touch with because they would often drop into the
training ground. But I'm looking forward to everyone
getting back together for this game and I'm sure we
will pick up just where we left off with the banter in
the changing room!
I have had a few days training with the squad this
week. I hope that there will be an edge to the game,
because the fans inside the stadium want to see a
proper match. I just hope there will be good football,
with a bit of space for the players to show what they
are capable of.
When I was back at London Colney last week and saw
some of the players getting ready for their pre-season
runs, I have to say I didn't envy them! But I'm sure I
will miss it over the next few weeks. It will be a
different life but I realise how lucky I've been to have
a long career, which I have loved. Now I am just
taking a year off, and will think about my future then.
I want to say how amazing the fans have been to me
throughout my time at Arsenal, pretty much from day
one. The fans here really appreciate you and that
makes you want to achieve more, they have really
driven me on.
More than anyone else in the world, English fans
know when you give everything, and that is all they
want from you. Of course if you play rubbish, they will
say so, but if you give the effort, they know. That's
why so many players enjoy it in England because it is
pure football here. The pitches, the stadium, the fans
- for a footballer it is ideal. This is what you dream
then and even draws were a disappointment.
It was about that time that I became more of a
second striker. 'Shadow-striker' was always my
best position - even back at Ajax - the only
difference was that the main striker there would
create more space for the other players, which is
why I scored so many goals there. When I first
came to Arsenal I scored goals here too, but I've
never been an out-and-out goalscorer - a
poacher. I always prefer to have a player around
me who prefers to have the pressure of being
the main scorer. From that time on playing with
Wrighty, with Anelka, with Thierry, my role
changed. Also in England's it's perfect because
they play a back four, so you get a lot of space
between the defence and midfield. They struggle
to cope with a player who drops off a bit.
I've been lucky to have partnerships all over the
pitch, not just with forwards - that's so important
in football. The best example might
be bow I played with Wim Jonk at
Ajax. If you have a certain feeling
with a player, when he controls the
ball, and makes eye contact with
KIMVd you, you know exactly what to do
then. In those cases the opposition can do nothing
about it. Before Wim even received the ball, we
would make eye contact. So I was two steps
ahead, because even before he got the ball, I
could make the run ready for the pass because I
knew what he was going to do. You just can't stop
that. I have had that relationship with strikers,
midfielders, wingers - you just need the
connection.
I won't name names, but there have been
players in my career too that I know haven't got
it. They receive the ball and keep their head
down, control it, look up, then see the player
move, then pass. That's too late. That might be a
reason that I stopped scoring at stages in my
career, for the national team as well. If you don't
have that eye contact, you don't get the service
and it takes away part of my game.
With Thierry it's a little bit different because
sometimes you can play the ball blind to him
and he still has the strength and pace to get on
to it. But I am always looking for that in a
partnership, and I think one of my strengths has
been that I was able to adjust to other players. I
see myself as fitting into a team, rather than a
