Arsenal legend Ian Wright reveals he nearly ruined career by smoking weed before matches
Ian Wright has revealed how he almost ruined his football career by smoking weed before matches.
The Arsenal and Crystal Palace legend says he nearly threw it all away by sparking up joints just hours before big matches – and almost getting busted by drug testers.
Wright, 52, remains one of the all-time Premier League greats, scoring 113 goals in 213 appearances.
But when he was just 21 and playing for Crystal Palace he almost lost it all by smoking hours before beating West Brom 4-1.
As the elated team celebrated in the dressing room, excitement quickly turned to panic for Wright when drug testers arrived.
The Woolwich-born striker says he was "practically paralysed" while trying to act unconcerned.
In his candid new autobiography, he reveals: "What hit me the most is how much I would have been letting people from my area down.
"If I had got caught on that drugs test it would have been beyond them."
But Wright, who says as a youngster he preferred smoking to drinking and was "around weed smokers from an early age", wasn't called and his panic quickly turned to relief.
"I sit down – more or less collapse – and think, "Somebody's looking out for me, now I know it!'" he says.
The Arsenal and Crystal Palace legend says he nearly threw it all away by sparking up joints just hours before big matches – and almost getting busted by drug testers.
Wright, 52, remains one of the all-time Premier League greats, scoring 113 goals in 213 appearances.
But when he was just 21 and playing for Crystal Palace he almost lost it all by smoking hours before beating West Brom 4-1.
As the elated team celebrated in the dressing room, excitement quickly turned to panic for Wright when drug testers arrived.
The Woolwich-born striker says he was "practically paralysed" while trying to act unconcerned.
In his candid new autobiography, he reveals: "What hit me the most is how much I would have been letting people from my area down.
"If I had got caught on that drugs test it would have been beyond them."
But Wright, who says as a youngster he preferred smoking to drinking and was "around weed smokers from an early age", wasn't called and his panic quickly turned to relief.
"I sit down – more or less collapse – and think, "Somebody's looking out for me, now I know it!'" he says.
