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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

William Gallas ranks fastest players including Thierry Henry, Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott

Former France international William Gallas is one of the few players to don the shirts of both Arsenal and Tottenham, inevitably burning plenty of bridges in the process.

But the Frenchman is actually probably best remembered for the time he spent with his first English club Chelsea, where he played from 2001-2006 after signing from Marseille.

Gallas spent a total of 12 years plying his trade in the Premier League and played alongside some of the game's best. When asked who was the quickest individual he ever lined up with, four names came to mind - two who he knew from his time at Arsenal.

"Theo Walcott, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Gareth Bale are the quickest I've ever played with," the ex-Arsenal captain told Genting Casino.

"Walcott was so fast, Thierry as well, but I think for the first 10 or 20 meters Walcott was faster, but over a longer distance Henry was faster. I was not fast, to be honest.

"I was reading the game, there's a difference, always anticipating. That's why I was already running before the ball left the foot of the midfielder. That's why people think I was quick but I was not that quick.

"Henry was faster. Nicolas Anelka was really quick over 10 or 20 meters, and for long-distance, Gareth Bale was fast as well. So I think they were the fastest players I played with."

William Gallas and Theo Walcott on the Arsenal training ground in 2007 (Getty Images)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who is the current fastest player in the Premier League? Comment below

Gallas' assessment of his own game is correct, his ability to read the play is what set him apart from other defenders at the time. His honours list, while impressive, is a damning assessment of his shortcomings away from Stamford Bridge.

Under Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman played his part in a record-breaking defence that shipped just 15 goals all season with Gallas featuring 28 times as Chelsea stormed to their first Premier League title.

He spent five years at Stamford Bridge, winning one more league title and a League Cup before swapping west London for north during the same summer that ex-Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole made the move in the opposite direction after a wage dispute with the Gunners.

His time at the Emirates was particularly turbulent, with Gallas once accusing the younger players in the side of lacking courage - comments that saw him stripped of the Gunners captaincy as the armband was then handed to 21-year-old Cesc Fabregas.

Gallas' unforgettable meltdown at the end of a 2-2 draw away at Birmingham that effectively ended Arsenal's title hopes was a moment that some sections of the Gunners fanbase refused to look past.

Things at Spurs hardly fared much better, as he endured a relatively injury-hit three years in the other half of north London before he was released.

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