"In denial for years" - Arsenal legend bravely details battle with alcoholism

06 September 2023 , 07:09

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Arsenal legend Perry Groves has spoken out about his battle with alcohol addiction (Image: talkSPORT)

Arsenal legend Perry Groves has opened up about his struggles with alcohol addiction, revealing he is now seven months sober after a stint in rehab.

Groves, who helped Arsenal win two league titles during his time at the club between 1986 and 1992, revealed he had a "complete mental and physical breakdown" that led to him seeking help.

"I think this is the biggest achievement I've ever had because I thought long and hard about coming on [air to speak about it]," he said on talkSPORT. "But the reason I've come on is if it helps one person out there who listens to this, my story and they reach out for help, that's what I did.

"As I say, I was completely shot, mentally and physically, had a massive breakdown, I was in denial, I didn't for a million years think it was anything to do with alcohol."

Groves revealed he sought help from his former Arsenal teammate Tony Adams. Adams also struggled with alcohol addiction and set up the Sporting Chance clinic which aims to help sports stars with a number of issues including addiction.

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"I was lucky enough to go into Sporting Chance, Tony Adams' rehab centre that he started in 2000," Groves explained. "Then I realised I had a severe drink problem, I am an alcoholic and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Now I've been made more aware of what it is, it's actually a disease. It's a disease whether you're a drug addict, a gambling addict, or whatever addiction you have.

"If you have alcoholism, it's your brain, you don't work in the same way a normal person does."

Groves believes his 28-day stint in rehab with Sporting Chance saved his life and thanked both Sporting Chance and the NHS for helping him.

Groves is now seven months sober after spending time in rehab (PA Archive/PA Images)

"The reason I've come on air is because no matter how bad - I've had mental health problems as well - no matter how bad you think the situation is, or how desperate you feel, there is help," he said. "If you talk to somebody and you reach out, there is help.

"It doesn't matter how bad you think the situation is, you can reach out to the Samaritans, whether you think you've got an addiction, you can go to AA meetings all around the country, you can just walk in there. The NHS were brilliant with me as well.

"There's help there for everybody, but if I didn't go in - and I was lucky enough to go into Sporting Chance - for rehab for 28 days, I don't think I'd be here. I genuinely think they saved my life, because I was going nowhere. I had nothing."

Matthew Cooper