Arsenal heroes have had incredible careers in years gone by, but specific moments still haunt one Gunners great
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has revealed the moments from his esteemed career that he regrets, most notably with England and international tournaments.
Wright made 33 appearances for England between 1991 and 1998, scoring nine goals. Despite plundering in goals for both Crystal Palace and Arsenal, though - he won the First Division golden boot in 1991/92 and became Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer in 1997 - Wright was never selected for England squad at an international tournament.
A proud Englishman who clearly loved representing his country, Wright revealed on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, how much this hurt him.
"I went to Arsenal and I was flying," Wright said, "but that was tough as it came with a lot of pressure. People were questioning if I could do it a big club, but even though I won the Golden Boot that season, I didn’t go to Sweden in 1992 [for the Euros].
Wright never had the chance to play for England at an international tournament (Image credit: Getty Images)
“The same thing happened in 1990 when I came on in the FA Cup final, scoring two goals against Manchester United. I was meant to be going to the World Cup with Bobby Robson, but he didn’t take me because he didn’t think I was going to be fit enough as I had just come back from two broken legs that season.
“So, I missed 1990, I wasn’t picked in 1992; 1994 we didn’t qualify and then in 1996 Terry Venables phoned me up saying I was going to be in the squad but on the bench. So, for the season I was just making sure I stayed in the team, and I played in all the games up to when the players went to Hong Kong, but I never got the call and that was it, I hadn’t been picked."
While England had strikers such as Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler at Euro 96, Wright believes it was his "destiny" to win the Three Lions their home tournament.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Wright regrets not being able to play at a World Cup or Euros (Image credit: Getty Images)
“With the tournament in 1996, it was my destiny to come on and score a goal," Wright added. "I believed it, and nobody could tell me any different.
“We had Ferdinand and Fowler on the bench, who never played a minute, so it was hard for me, simply because Venables said to me that I was going to be involved but, on the bench, and I was happy to take the situation.
“I missed 1996 and then in 1998, Glenn Hoddle told me that I was going and we had a warm-up game against Morocco, where I was playing the first half and then Michael Owen was going to play the second. But I did my hamstring in the 35th minute and missed the whole tournament.
"I missed all the tournaments from 1990 to 1998 - I couldn’t believe I wasn’t good enough to be in the squad."
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
