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The Story Of Kolo Toure's Arsenal Trial Is The Greatest Thing Ever

The Story Of Kolo Toure's Arsenal Trial Is The Greatest Thing Ever

Kolo Toure's Arsenal trial was eventful to say the least.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Kolo Toure's Arsenal trial is quite possibly the greatest story of all time.

The Ivorian defender was a Premier League winner and a vital part of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' that went unbeaten in 2003/04.

In total he spent seven years with the North London outfit but truth be told it's a miracle his Arsenal career even happened given what he produced on his first day of training.

On a trial, Toure was told not to tackle in training as the Gunners were taking things a little lightly.

Image: PA
Image: PA

But he was far too eager to impress and ended up making a horror, red-card worthy challenge on talisman Thierry Henry before following that up by taking out their other key player, Dennis Bergkamp.

To top it all off, Toure then produced a two-footed tackle to take out Wenger, who had to go the medical room and have an ice pack on his ankle.

Poor Kolo thought he'd messed up his big opportunity but to his surprise, Wenger loved the desire he displayed and signed him up.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour had told the tale before and given his version of what happened - and Wenger himself confirmed the story played out exactly as had been reported.

"Yes, he tackled us but it was more for rea­sons of enthu­siasm than aggres­si­ve­ness," Wenger said in an interview with 11Freunde.

"He was keen to show how much he wanted to stay. I had to go to the doctor, but my injury wasn't too serious.

"I signed him the next day because of his desire, his hunger and his phy­sical strength. He was a monster."

Kolo's younger brother Yaya Toure was also infamously on trial with Arsenal and started a pre-season friendly against Barnet, only for the club to elect against signing the former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football, Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal, thierry henry