I held transfer talks with Tottenham… but joined Arsenal after Spurs paid for a taxi to take me there

EMMANUEL PETIT opened up about Arsenal’s mastermind plan to hijack Tottenham’s transfer for the Frenchman in 1997.

And the former midfielder revealed Spurs even paid for his taxi ride to Arsene Wenger‘s house.

Getty - Contributor

Petit held transfer talks with Tottenham before signing for Arsenal in 1997[/caption]

PA:Empics Sport

Petit revealed Spurs even paid for a taxi to Arsene Wenger’s house[/caption]

Petit’s former Monaco boss Wenger joined the Gunners in 1996 -where he transformed the club forever.

And a year later the World Cup winner found himself in London with Spurs chairman Alan Sugar to talk about a transfer from Monaco to White Hart Lane.

But as soon as Wenger heard about his former player in the capital he made sure Petit heard his pitch first before signing anything.

And Petit had one to owe to Wenger who brought him the ranks at Monaco.

So after his chat with Tottenham, he asked the chiefs to have some time to think about the offer at his hotel.

The North London club even paid for his taxi back but the car did a detour to Wenger’s house.

Where he then sealed a deal with the Gunners for £2.5million.

He said on talkSPORT: “I had meetings on the same day with Tottenham and Arsenal. I met Tottenham in the morning, but when I came to England I didn’t know about the rivalry between the two clubs.

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“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.”

Arsenal were challenging for Premier League glory while Spurs were battling it out in the relegation zone in the 1997-98 season.

By the end of Petit’s first season, he was a Premier League and FA Cup winner.

And in the summer his midfield partnership with Patrick Vieira at Arsenal paid off as they assisted France to the World Cup title.

While Spurs struggled through the term and ended up finishing in 14th.

Petit left Arsenal in 2000 for Barcelona and returned to England and joined Chelsea in 2001, retiring at the club in 2004.