Following his retirement from the game and addition to Celtic's coaching staff, we take a look at the unbelievable story behind Kolo Toure's trial at the Gunners, which could go down as one of the greatest unseen moments in the Premier League.
In the book, 'Arsene Wenger: The Inside Story of Arsenal Under Wenger’, former Gunners man Ray Parlour revealed the peculiar story which ended with Bergkamp, Henry and Wenger injured, and Kolo Toure being offered a deal at the club.
'I remember the ball was rolled into Thierry Henry and Kole Toure, from nowhere, smashed into him from behind. It was a terrible tackle, a red card in a normal game, and our best player was rolling around', Parlour recalled.
The Ivorian defender was not done yet. 'Wenger was shouting: "Kolo, what are you doing? Don’t tackle!". The next minute, the ball was into Dennis Bergkamp and Kolo did exactly the same… Anyway, Wenger said: "No more tackling".
But Toure could not contain his competitive nature, even when the ball fell to the feet of the French manager. Parlour continued: 'So next thing you know, Kolo Toure took him [Wenger] out with a two-footed tackle! All you could hear was Wenger screaming'.
'Kolo was nearly in tears, his big day ruined. I went into the medical room and there was Arsene with an ice pack on his ankle. I said: "I don’t think he meant it". He told me there and then: "We’re signing him tomorrow. I like his desire".
Kolo Toure went on to make over 300 appearances for the Gunners, before subsequent stints at Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic, where he has finally opted to put an end to his career. After fifteen years in British football, nobody can say he lacked intensity.