Arsenal legend Ian Wright has now been opening up on the moment he realised Arsene Wenger was going to sell him.
Wright joined Arsenal in 1991, five years before Wenger then arrived at the club in 1996, which needless to say, ignited a new era at the club.
In total, the fan-favourite played 279 games for the Gunners, scoring a remarkable 179 goals.
Incidentally, Wright’s only league title came after Wenger’s arrival in the 1997/98 season, even if the striker had won three cup competitions with the club beforehand.
But having left Arsenal to join West Ham United in the summer of 1998, Wright’s and Wenger’s time together was fairly brief, when considering how long both spent at the club.
And speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast recently, Wright has now shared the story of when he knew his time was up under Wenger at Arsenal.
Having later played for Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley, Wright never won another honour in his career, whereas Wenger’s side certainly didn’t relent.
Ian Wright admits Arsene Wenger was ‘livid’ with his unprofessionalism at Arsenal
Speaking on the podcast, Wright recalled the rollerskate-fiasco that infuriated Wenger.
He shared: “This is when I knew it was over for me with Wenger because it was the year before we won the Premier League.
“I got into the rollerblades and at Arsenal there was a bit where we used to park our cars and the car park was so smooth.
“I was doing my rollerblading in there, I got there an hour earlier than we usually had to be there to do some rollerblading and then I thought I don’t even need to take them off, I’ll get to the dressing room and then give them to Vic, so Vic can hide them.
“So when we got through I thought I can go through the marble halls on them, nobody has ever done that. I opened the door, and I’m not joking, as I opened the door, Arsene Wenger just came out and we just went past each other looking at each other.
“I remember as I was going past he went ‘Ian this is not acceptable’ and I knew then he was livid. I had never seen him angry.
“Even when the guys came in he said about what I had done and how unprofessional it had been and do you know what?
“I didn’t think how unprofessional it had been. It was the day of the game! I could have twisted my ankle or anything.”
Arsenal legend tells club to prioritise Victor Osimhen move
Although Arsenal have reportedly just sent a bid to RB Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko, the striker isn’t necessarily top of Ian Wright’s wish list.
During Arsenal’s run of poor-finishing over the festive period, Wright decided there was only one striker Arsenal needed, and it wasn’t Sesko, at the time at least.
Speaking to The Sun, Wright wanted the Gunners to launch a move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Quoted in late December, Wright said: “The calibre of player Arsenal need right now is somebody who hits the ground running, a top end striker, like the Osimhens of this world… that level of striker.
“If Arsenal want to do it now they’re going to need that level of goalscorer who will slot in straight away.”
Of course, if Wright saw how Benjamin Sesko compared to Harry Kane in the Bundesliga last season, he may now change his mind.