George Graham: Boozing cost Arsenal trophies

The former Scotland star, now 63, transformed Arsenal's fortunes after he arrived at Highbury in May 1986, leading them to their first trophy in eight years when they won the Littlewoods Cup under Kenny Sansom's captaincy in 1987.

Graham's team went on to win two league titles in 1989 and 1991 — after Sansom had left — with a side famed for their mean defence. But Graham, renowned for his tough discipline, was unable to curb the drinking habits of his leading players and regrets the cost to Arsenal.

Now, writing in an appendix to Sansom's autobiography, To Cap It All, Graham praises the England player as 'a left-footed, left-back genius' but also laments the off-field failings of some of his squad.

'When I look back at my time managing Arsenal in the Eighties, I wonder how much more we could have achieved had my team not been boozing so much,' said Graham.

'Don't get me wrong, they gave their all — Kenny, Tony Adams, Paul Merson and the others — but their activities off the pitch must have had a detrimental effect on their overall performances. Tony and Paul have spoken about their battles with addiction and now it's Kenny's turn to tell his story.'

Adams, in his own contribution to Sansom's book, praises his former team-mate for facing up to his addictions, which he has done with help from the Sporting Chance clinic Adams founded after his own battle with alcoholism.

'When I saw Kenny on Sky TV last year I felt sad,' writes the former England captain, who is No 2 to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth. 'As a pundit he said all the right things. He knows his stuff and, being sharp and funny, he has the personality to deliver.

'But I was acutely aware of how lonely he looked. I know about that lonely place.'