Arsene Wenger flew me to Paris to tell me to leave Arsenal – I had absolutely no idea it was coming
IAN WRIGHT has recalled the emotional moment he was told to leave Arsenal.
The former striker left Highbury in 1998 following a sensational seven-year spell.
He scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for the Gunners and established himself as a club legend.
However, then-manager Arsene Wenger and vice-chairman David Dein called time on Wright’s Arsenal career just two years before the ex-England star planned to retire.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Stick to Football podcast, the ex-England international opened up about the moment he was told about his departure.
He said: “I remember David Dein calling me and saying ‘me and the boss are in Paris, come and meet us for a chat’.
“The naivety of me was like ‘ah yeah I’m going to see the boss and Mr. Dein, it’s cool’.
“And so I go and see them, I walk into the room and as soon as I sit in the room and see the boss’s face and I see David Dein almost welling up, I thought I’m out the door.
“I didn’t expect to leave because I was always going to retire in 2000.
“So then I went to West Ham, then Forest on loan and then Celtic.”
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Wright then went on to explain why his move to Burnley felt like a “full circle” moment following his devastating Arsenal exit.
He added: “But it was when I got to Burnley with Stan Ternent, he was the first coach – when I was at Palace – who really used to sit me down and draw it out what runs you’re meant to make, why you have to hold the ball here, why you have to hit the target – all this sort of stuff.
“He said ‘I know it’s not going too well at Celtic, I’ve got a good bunch of lads here. I think if you come I think we can do it.’
“I went there and it was the best six-seven months of my career. It went full circle for me because all of a sudden you’re back down to getting changed in not-great changing rooms, it was like proper football.
“The thing with it was the players and the camaraderie of that, for me to end. I had four clubs in one season, just getting ready to leave. And so by the time I finished we got promotion at Burnley.
“This was why I got such a nice vibe with Burnley, they gave me something at the end. Because the way I got hit at Arsenal – even when I left Palace – I didn’t instigate any move, it all happened so quickly.”