Ian Wright says he never cried so much than during a gut-wrenching moment in his Arsenal career.
Back in 1991, Wright left Crystal Palace to join fellow London club Arsenal in a deal worth a reported fee of £2.5 million.
The striker went on to make 288 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners, scoring 185 goals.
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During his time as an Arsenal player, Wright won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Recalling one of the worst moments of his career, Wright spoke about the gut-wrenching defeat that Arsenal suffered against Real Zaragoza.
The Gunners were hoping to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the second time during the 94/95 season.
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However, with one minute to go until a penalty shootout, a long-range effort by Nayim won the cup for Zaragoza in dramatic fashion.
The defeat left Wright crestfallen, he said on Stick to Football – a podcast brought to you by Sky Bet: “With us in the final the second year – and Nayim from the half-way line – it was devastating. I’d started thinking, ‘right, I’m going to take a penalty, I’m going to probably get the fifth one’, [then I] looked over and it was the last second.
“It was like ripping your heart out and letting you see it before you fall over.”
Wright continued: “When he hit it, I looked at the goalie and you could see he was backtracking. He’s like, ‘Jesus!’, and then when you saw it go in – I’ve never cried so much.
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“Opportunism is what I thought to myself. You’re not expecting it. I’m thinking about the penalties and then ‘bam!’ he does that.
“What happened was I was this side, and all their fans were down [the other side], and you know when you see other fans erupt – my heart was broken, trampled on.”
Wright was Arsenal’s record top scorer until Thierry Henry reached a tally of 228 goals.
Featured Image Credit: Arsenal/GettyTopics: Ian Wright, Arsenal