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

---

Tagged: chelsea vs arsenal, europa league final, chelsea vs arsenal line ups, chelsea vs arsenal stream, chelsea vs arsenal commentary, chelsea vs arsenal live on talksport, arsenal f c. martinlutherkingday2019.com sport Chelsea vs Arsenal: Build up and full coverage of Europa League final from Baku
~ Arsenal vs Valencia FREE live stream: How to watch without

---

'Give Alexis Sanchez games and he will deliver for Manchester United' - Danny Murphy sends message to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Monday, 18 February 2019 Alexis Sanchez looks fit, sharp, is still one of the Premier League's most gifted players and WILL deliver for Manchester United if given the chance.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'sets deadline

---

The report goes on to state that Juventus is expected to sport the Palace x adidas Originals kits for the 2019/20 season with a shirts inspired by the kits worn by Inter and Juventus in the
Juventus unveil 2019/20 home kit - Juventus.com

---

Manchester United have drawn up a shortlist of two names to replace David de Gea if the goalkeeper leaves the club this summer. The Spanish stopper has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid
Real Madrid on the verge of signing superstar in stunning £

---

Celtic news: Roberto Martinez's agent plays down rumour he will become the new manager. Celtic news: Roberto Martinez's agent plays down rumour he will become the new manager
Roberto Martinez agent pours cold water on Celtic rumours

---

Spurs are in a Champions League semi-final - what an achievement for Mauricio Pochettino and co! Swiftly after the sweetest defeat the Lilywhites might ever taste, Tottenham once again face Manchester City on Saturday afternoon and who knows what we'll get this time.
Mauricio Pochettino makes shock admission about the

---

right of reply Police investigating an incident in the tunnel at Oakwell have bailed a man who was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated offences. Fleetwood manager Joey Barton has taken to Twitter to 'emphatically' deny all allegations made against him following Saturday's defeat at Barnsley.
Joey Barton "emphatically denies" allegations over Daniel

---

Chelsea news live: €60m star that could help Hazard, Gary Neville offers Chelsea transfer advice. Chelsea transfer news includes our live blog to keep up to date with all the latest goings on at Stamford Bridge
Transfer news and rumours LIVE: Barcelona put Jovic move on

---

Noel Gallagher has urged Liverpool fans to stop crying their hearts out - because they've still got two of the biggest KFCs in Europe. The Oasis legend and die-hard Manchester City fan was
Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher mocks Liverpool over title

---

Man City vs Watford live on talkSPORT: Exclusive coverage of FA Cup final, match preview and team news City are bidding to complete an unprecedented domestic treble at Wembley LIVE ON TALKSPORT
~ Manchester City vs Watford live on talkSPORT: Exclusive

---

Former AC Milan and Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo has criticised Divock Origi's performance in the Champions League final despite scoring the crucial second goal. Origi was a 58th-minute

---