Ian Wright netted six times against Arsenal’s fierce north London rivals, and says that is what sealed his place in Arsenal folklore.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Cannon, Wrighty says it was an old teammate, friend, and fellow Arsenal legend who told him just what it would take for him to be in our hearts forever.

“I remember David Rocastle – my dear friend, rest in peace, he said ‘Ian, if you can score against Tottenham in your first game (against them). If you can score against Tottenhma, that is it. You’re in for life.’”

Naturally, Wright obliged.

“And I remember I did. It was the game where David Hillier passed it to me, I know that, and I actually got injured after scoring.”

Putting his body on the line for the cause and netting against our local rivals – it doesn’t get much better, does it?

“I remember scoring away at Tottenham as well in literally the last second and ran all the way to David Seaman.”

That sort of mad celebration wasn’t rare for Wright, his passion was always obvious, and only served to endear him to Arsenal fans further.

When we asked him if that was his favourite goal against Tottenham, he didn’t even hesitate.

“Yeah, by far.

“To score like that – I’ve done it a couple of times against them as well and that’s why I get so much stick from them.

“To score in the last minute. At White Hart Lane. To win the game. Is one of the moments that you know, that’s a special moment. I loved that. Those are the ones.”

We loved him for that, among everything else he did for the club. But what about Tottenham fans?

“I get a lot of love from Spurs fans now because they can say it with a smile on their face, but obviously while I was playing they hated me, which means I was doing my job.”

For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t mind them hating all of our players. If they like any of them, they probably aren’t doing what we’d expect of them.

When posed with the choice between being caught roller skating in the Marble Halls; being booked and missing the 1994 Cup Winners Cup Final; and not breaking Cliff Bastin’s record against Tottenham, Wrighty again showed no hesitation.

“It’s got to be the record against Tottenham.”

He is and always will be an Arsenal legend. It would have been quite sweet had he broken the record against them, but that would probably be asking too much of a man who already gave everything for the Arsenal.

His mild disdain for Tottenham from his playing days is still evident now. Ian Wright is an Arsenal legend, and an Arsenal fan.

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Ian Wright was talking at Ball Street’s media day for #OneMoreGame.

Please subscribe to Ball Street’s YouTube channel to follow Wrighty’s journey to #OneMoreGame 

[Quotes from this interview may be used as long as full credit is given to DailyCannon.com and this article is linked]

EXCLUSIVE: Ian Wright on Arsenal fans, David Rocastle’s advice + much more