81 Quotes by Patrick Vieira

When we talk about Arsene Wenger, I like the fact that he focuses 80 percent about the style of play he wants for his team and not taking so much consideration into the other team.

In my time at Arsenal, we had a really good balance. We had players who were fast, players who were really strong physically, and players who were really creative. When you look at the generation of Arsenal at the moment, they may be playing better football than we used to, but they win less than we used to - so, where's the balance?

I didn't know anything about England or anything about Arsenal, but I knew a lot about Arsene and his reputation, so I went straight away.

I had to prove everything because I was coming from Milan, and nobody knew me. I was a young talent who hadn't done anything, so I had it all to prove and all to do.

I enjoyed playing for the national team, the French national team, because I think France gave me a lot and gave my family a lot, so to wear the French national team shirt was really good, and I wore it with pride.

It had never been a decision to choose between the French national team or the Senegalese national team because I was growing up in France and playing in the French youth national team, so it was something really normal.

I think what African football needs is better organization, better structure, and I think, after that, we'll help the players to be more professional when they're coming to play for their national team.

We know that if someone is in a better position than you to score, you have to give him the ball.

I understand that when people try to wind me up, it's because I'm playing well. Whenever I had trouble, it was because I reacted to something. Now I'm much more focused on the game and on doing my job.