Funny Arsenal Christmas party story involving Patrick Vieira during the early Arsene Wenger years

Funny Arsenal Christmas party story involving Patrick Vieira during the early Arsene Wenger years
It’s that time of year. Christmas parties are in full swing and footballers are delving into their wardrobes in search of their best Batman and Superman costumes.The traditional knees up involving players of today are usually kept low key, with alcohol off the menu for many – things have definitely changed a lot in the last 20 years and here, talkSPORT.com was reminded about a very funny tale involving an Arsenal get together in 1996.Shortly after Arsene Wenger took over at Highbury, players wanted to head out and celebrate the most wonderful time of year, but the Frenchman was very reluctant to do so, as LeeDixon once told Four Four Two.3

Wenger was reluctant to let his players out for their Christmas party bash, but relented, before slowly making his mark on the team

However,after some convincing from club captain Tony Adams, they were given the green light.“The tradition was we would go out and get absolutely leathered and then recover on our day off,” Dixon explained.Pre-Wenger, Arsenal’s drinking culture was legendary, with players hitting the town for their ‘Tuesday Club’ as they usually had Wednesday off to recover.There was a lot of change when the Frenchman took over as he slowly started to make his mark in north London. New recruits were drafted in from abroad – 21-year-old Patrick Vieira being one of them – where the culture was a little more focused on diet.3

Vieira was signed from Milan for 3.5m in 1996

And when the young midfielder turned up to one Christmas bash in the capital with his car keys, his team-mates were horrified.Asked for an explanation, he said he had driven there to enjoy a meal and a glass of wine before shooting off to prepare for the next training session.It was like he was speaking a foreign language. “The boys weren’t having that,” Dixon added. “So we took his keys from him, and soon Patrick was loving it and dancing on the tables.” Wenger is credited with revolutionising the preparation of players and their diet as squads faced increasingly demanding fixture schedules.Speaking about the boozy nights out, Ray Parlour told the Telegraph in 2013 what the club’s first pre-season trip with Wenger as manager was like.New French lads had come into the team like Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi,” he explained.“We worked our socks off and at the end of the trip Wenger said we could all go out. You know what we were like, we went straight down to the pub and the French lads went to the coffee shop.Ill always remember the moment Steve Bould went up to the bar and ordered 35 pints for five of us. After we left the bar we spotted all the French lads in the coffee shop and they were sitting around smoking.I thought: How are we going to win the league this year? Were all drunk and theyre all smoking. We ended up winning the [Premier League and FA Cup] double that year.3

Arsenal won the league and cup double in Wenger’s first full season in charge

---

Wigan have seen more of the ball during the opening few minutes. Dan Burn wastes little time in making his presence felt with a heavy challenge. A good atmosphere inside the ground by the sounds
Филин - Нефтяник (2005 г.р.) 01.03.2015. Первенство ХМАО

---

Ashley Cole signs for ex-Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard at Derby-ESPN Ex-Chelsea star Gianluca Vialli reveals year-long battle with cancer Sky News Gianluca Vialli has revealed he is recovering after undergoing months of chemotherapy, and says he is starting to feel better.
Home | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club

---

Manchester United have a solution to their Paul Pogba problem. Man Utd fell to a second defeat in Wolves in three weeks and it was another poor display by Paul Pogba at Molineux.
Paul Pogba dances annoy more & more people - Tribuna.com

---

England fans in Porto labelled an 'embarrassment' as police fight with supporters ahead of Nations League semi-final Fans responsible for causing trouble in Portugal ahead of England's Nations League semi-final have been labelled an 'embarrassment to the team' by the talkSPORT 3 days ago
England fans clash with police in Portugal ahead of Nations

---

Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester United: Why Red Devils fans

---

Schalke vs Manchester City: Police arrest man after visiting

---

Tottenham Hotspur away kit 2019/20: Leaked image shows iridescent crest on a dark blue shirt Spurs are set to have an intriguing jersey on the road next year as Nike continue to their
New Tottenham 2019/20 kits: Leaked image gives fans first

---

Chelsea news: Eden Hazard goal stats show how hard it will be

---

Derby County beat Southampton on penalties in FA Cup

---

Edu was and remains a popular figure in north London both with the fans and club hierarchy and has long been viewed as a former player who would make a shrewd addition to the Arsenal hierarchy. Indeed it is understood his name was discussed as a potential sporting director before the departure of Sven Mislintat and the failed pursuit of Monchi.
Brazilian Football Confederation confirms Edu approach

---

Tottenham Hotspur are looking to beat Manchester United to the signing of Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks this summer, according to the Mirror.. Spurs are reportedly lining up a £50million bid for the Wales international after failing to sign any new players throughout the 2018/19 campaign.
Manchester United and Spurs want Bournemouth star, Coutinho

---

WHETHER you think his has been a mission impossible or is now a position untenable - Phil Parkinson made it to 1,000 days in charge of Bolton Wanderers. The milestone passed by yesterday as he

---

Sean Dyche came out fighting in response to Jurgen Klopp's criticism of Burnley's tackling. Klopp was unhappy with the Clarets' sliding tackles during his side's 3-1 victory at Turf Moor
Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss unhappy with Burnley tackling

---

Barcelona trolled Luka Modric on Twitter with a picture of him fouling Lionel Messi in Barcelona's 3-0 away win over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Barcelona troll Modric for pulling Messi's shirt by telling

---