Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has shared a hilarious story about Patrick Vieira ahead of the launch of Arsene Wenger's new film - one Tottenham fans may not enjoy.
With the Gunners moving into fifth place in the Premier League table, the third international break arrived. With time away from competitive club football, it was deemed the perfect time to launch the new film on Wenger's life in football.
Before the film premiered, Wenger took part in an on-stage Q&A, and he was joined on stage by Dein, one of the men who brought him to Highbury in 1996.
One of the first moves Wenger made in his new role was to sign Vieira from AC Milan.
"I am delighted to be joining Arsenal at the same time as Mr Wenger becomes their coach. Being able to speak French to him will make life a lot easier for me," the midfielder said upon his arrival.
The Gunners did everything they could to help Vieira assimilate to life in England, even hiring a tutor to teach him English.
But Dein revealed a fantastic story about his methods of learning English, while an embarrassed Vieira looked on from the audience.
"Patrick, as you know, he came from Milan and he couldn't speak a word of English," Dein said. "We had to make sure he settled down well. We gave him a teacher, we made sure he had a nice house, a car, a mobile phone.
"After a couple of weeks I went down to the dressing room and I said: 'Patrick, can you speak something in English?'
"He said 'yes Mr. Dein'. I said: 'What can you say?' He looked at me and he said: 'Tottenham are [explicit].'
After the laughter and loud applause had settled down, Dein continued: "I said 'Patrick, who told you that?'
"He said: 'Ray Parlour.'"
Vieira would go on to make more than 400 appearances for the Gunners, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in his nine years in north London.
He can be found back in the capital now, managing an exciting Crystal Palace side, although he refused to be drawn into commenting on his Arsenal past prior to the Eagles' victory against Spurs in October.
