So many players asked to swap with Thierry Henry that Arsenal threatened to make him pay for the shirts he gave away

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I was never one for going up to a player and asking for their shirt, though I did quite a few swaps. 

The most famous shirts I have are probably from some of the great Arsenal players I played alongside. I kept England shirts and some precious Arsenal ones, but when you have kids they will often ask you to swap with somebody so I’ve got quite a few others.

Sami Hyypia asked for mine after the FA Cup final in 2001. We had been winning 1-0 but then Michael Owen scored two to win it for Liverpool. 

Sportsmail's Martin Keown challenges for the ball with Emile Heskey in the 2001 FA Cup final with Liverpool

When Sami asked me I couldn’t care less because the last thing I wanted to keep was a shirt from that final! The trouble is his shirt now appears from a random box every now and then and every time it brings back all those bad memories.

I remember seeing Leicester players queueing up before a game to ask for Dennis Bergkamp’s shirt. As soon as that happened we knew we had them beaten. 

With Thierry Henry so many asked for his shirt that the club threatened to start making him pay for ones he gave away! I can’t imagine why somebody wouldn’t want my shirt over Thierry’s... 

Thierry Henry swaps shirts with DaMarcus Beasley in 2004 and (right) Shaun Wright-Phillips, then of Chelsea

While it’s one thing swapping shirts after a game, it’s another doing it at half-time. That’s inappropriate, especially when you’re losing.

When you’re 3-0 down, it looks like you’re giving up. It was probably deliberate from Real Madrid, trying to defuse Mario. But you shouldn’t be interacting with the opposition — you’re not out to make friends.

There is a lot wrong with Liverpool at the moment and you have to take collective responsibility for that. Nobody should hide behind Mario Balotelli.

Mario Balotelli (right) trades shirts with Real Madrid's Pepe as they head into the Anfield tunnel on Wednesday