Soccer: ‘I will never try to hurt somebody for nothing’

WHEN Arsene Wenger became Arsenal coach in summer 1996, the first thing he did was sign two midfield players.

One was Remi Garde from his hometown club Strasbourg, who was to become Arsenal's first foreign captain. The other was Patrick Vieira, who cost £3.5m from AC Milan.

Though no-one had heard of Vieira in England, he had already carved his reputation in France where he played one season for Cannes before moving to Milan, whose then vice-president Adriano Galliani declared: "With his body, his physical skills and his ability, he's the prototype of the midfielder of the future.