Arsenal legend Ian Wright played with some incredible players during his time at Highbury, including some world-class stars.
Wright enjoyed a legendary period in North London between 1991 and 1998, playing under both George Graham and Arsene Wenger.
The England striker lined up alongside other Arsenal legends including Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira, and by the time he left the club, a prodigal young talent in Nicolas Anelka was thriving.
Wright has now revealed that after arriving from Crystal Palace, it was a different player to these technical geniuses who blew him away in training.
Ian Wright says Paul Merson blew him away in Arsenal training
Speaking on The Overlap, Wright revealed that former Arsenal star Paul Merson was the player who surprised him the most in training.
“When you go to a (big) club, there’ll be players that are doing stuff, and sometimes you make your run but you won’t get it, because there’s players doing other things,” Wright explained about his initial move to Arsenal.
“I do admit, they did have some great players, but he was the first one and everything was his right foot, Paul Merson. He’s the first one that made me think, ‘Jesus Christ, the levels.’ He was another level.”
Paul Merson was an underrated player for Arsenal
Given that Wright, Bergkamp, Anelka and later Thierry Henry were all world-class attackers for Arsenal in the 1990s, it is sometimes easy to overlook how good Paul Merson was at his best.
Merson scored 92 goals, and assisted 48 times in 398 appearances for Arsenal in over 10 years at the club. He played in a variety of positions, including centre-forward, in midfield and on both wings.
The England International was often overlooked for his country, scoring just three times in 21 caps, but those who played with him, like Wright, knew the quality he could bring to the Arsenal side, particularly under Graham.
Merson was the PFA Young Player of the Year in 1989, as part of the Arsenal side which won the First Division title at Anfield in the most dramatic circumstances.
He departed Arsenal in 1997, just before Wenger won the first Premier League title at the club, but Merson was a club icon who perhaps goes under the radar when looking back at iconic players.
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