Tottenham paid for transfer target’s taxi to Arsenal and then rivals completed hijack

Tottenham believed they were about to sign France midfielder Emmanuel Petit, but Arsenal had other ideas.

It was 1997 when Gunners bosses hatched a plan to pull off the mother of all transfer hijacks – and it would not be the last time as fans are realising almost 30 years later with Eberechi Eze having a late change of heart.

This was a period of great success for Arsenal – Dennis Bergkamp and David Platt were added to the squad that summer, while Arsene Wenger was appointed manager in 1996 and completely transformed them.

So when it was put to France international Petit, then of Monaco: Do you want to fight relegation or challenge for Premier League titles, it was a no-brainer.

What happened?

He was in north London, talking to Spurs chairman Alan Sugar about moving to the capital. Arsenal heard about the meeting and got word to him not to sign anything until he had at least heard Wenger’s pitch about this new era that was about to unfold down the road.

That seemed fair enough considering Wenger was the man who brought him through at Monaco, so Petit asked Tottenham bosses for time to think about the offer at his hotel.

Spurs even paid for the taxi to drive him there, but the cab was instead diverted to Wenger’s house where he was joined by vice-chairman David Dein and a £3.5m deal was sealed.

Speaking to talkSPORT Drive, Petit recalled: “I had meetings on the same day with Tottenham and Arsenal,” he said, stressing that the north London divide was unknown to him. “I met Tottenham in the morning, but when I came to England I didn’t know about the rivalry between the two clubs.

“When I left the Spurs stadium, they booked me a cab and the cab driver asked me for directions, so I gave him the Arsenal address and I didn’t realise that the cab was pre-paid by Spurs, so they knew where I was going!

“I told Spurs that I needed time to think about it but knew that I had to see Arsenal, as well as other clubs in Italy and Spain.

“I told everyone that I’d make my mind up and when I knew the answer I would give it, but after a couple of days I signed for Arsenal and it went into newspapers and all of a sudden the story came.

“I realised the pressure of the rivalry then.”

Speaking about it in 2018, Petit said: “It’s part of the legend now. David Dein still loves that story – and [more than] 20 years later he’s still telling it!”

His transfer began Wenger’s revolution, with Gilles Grimandi and Nicolas Anelka also arriving at Highbury.

And Petit was a very busy man.

Midfield Powerhouse

By the end of the pony-tailed one’s first season, he was a Premier League and FA Cup winner, with his partnership with Patrick Vieira in midfield was the envy of the nation.

Having moved from defence in France into the heart of midfield in England, Petit’s reading of the game to break up attacks was second to none, whilst his passing cut open opposition defences.

In the summer he won the 1998 World Cup, setting up Zinedine Zidane for his first goal in the final against Brazil and then scoring late on to make it 3-0. He even found time to help Sun Hill’s finest with an appearance on a Christmas episode of former ITV drama, The Bill.

Petit played himself delivering a signed ball to an ill child in hospital. “I didn’t realise it was so popular at the time,” he laughed at his appearance on the popular TV show that ended in 2010 after 27 years.

But those long blond locks fans loved him for may never have been seen by British fans, as his teammates threatened to cut them off owing to an apparent rudeness.

“When the French lads came over, the atmosphere was a little different,” former teammate Ray Parlour once told talkSPORT.

“Us British guys had a little bit more fun.

“Dennis Bergkamp was another one, they were a little more bit serious and we tried to get a bit of fun out of them.

“They did change quickly and they did really enjoy the banter, but every now again, for example, Manu Petit sometimes would walk straight past you.

“You’d say, ‘morning, Manu’, and he’d walk straight past you.

“He did it to all the players. He did it to [captain] Tony Adams, he did it to [goalkeeper] David Seaman and that’s not acceptable.

“Whatever problems you have, you say good morning to somebody, don’t you? It’s very rude if you just walk past someone. It’s just having that respect for other people.

“So, one morning we nailed him against the wall and told him: ‘Make sure you say good morning to everybody because, if you don’t, we’ll cut your ponytail off!’

“We even had scissors.

“After that, he was good as gold!”

Petit, though, would have been more worried by Martin Keown telling him to behave.

He once joked football saved Keown from a stretch in jail. “Martin is such a nice guy but all of a sudden, in the space of one second, he can change,” he said recalling his teammate’s combative nature.

Both were fierce competitors and both have enjoyed Arsenal’s ascent in recent years and Tottenham’s struggles.

It’s happened again

Poor Spurs. It seems they have been embarrassed in the transfer market again.

In addition to Petit, Chelsea did it with Willian and now the Gunners have moved to beat their rivals to the signing of Eze from Crystal Palace.

Spurs had been closing in on a deal to sign the England star in a deal worth £60m, with Arsenal emerging at the final hour to show their hand.

For boyhood Gooner Eze it is a dream move and for Tottenham manager Thomas Frank it’s back to the drawing board.

When news of the hijacking broke, the talkSPORT phone lines were flooded with angry Tottenham fans and gloating Arsenal supporters.

Chairman Daniel Levy bore the brunt of criticism on the Sports Bar, while one Gooner mocked host Jamie O’Hara, a former Tottenham midfielder, by telling him the club don’t even want Eze.

The next north London derby should be interesting.

For all the latest transfer news, tune in to talkSPORT’s live blog