IAN WRIGHT has revealed how he broke down in tears and felt pure anger after a brutal England snub following his transfer to Arsenal.
The Gunners legend, 60, left Crystal Palace for Highbury in 1991 after making a stunning breakthrough from non-league nobody to one of the top-flight’s deadliest finishers.
A year prior to that £2.5million move he had been left out of Sir Bobby Robson’s 1990 World Cup despite his exploits for the Eagles.
Graham Taylor took charge after that tournament and eventually handed Wright his international debut in February 1991 against Cameroon.
However, after helping the Three Lions reach the 1992 European Championship, he failed to make the cut as Taylor opted for attackers Gary Lineker, Nigel Clough, Alan Smith and Alan Shearer instead, despite him being the first division’s top scorer in his first season at Arsenal.
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Now Wright, who also discussed the moment he explosively lost it and destroyed a referee’s room after being sent-off for West Ham, has revealed how that decision left him with one of the worst feelings he has ever had.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap: Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, the now much-loved pundit said: “[I was angry as a player because] I felt like I didn’t get respect.
“Nationally – not the players, the players were fine – but the way the press would document me, it was always negative.
“In games that I was doing well, they would always go back to the negative thing of what I may have done.
“I always found the reason why I might have been so angry was I didn’t feel I was getting any kind of credit or recognition.”
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Wright continued: “One of the worst I’ve ever felt – and I don’t think I’ve cried as much – was when I went to Arsenal in 91/92.
“Everyone was saying when you go to a big club, if you do well, you’ll get in the England squad. I went to Arsenal, I won the Golden Boot, and he [Graham Taylor] never even took me to the Euros in Sweden. I was devastated.
“It was Gary Lineker’s last one, Alan Shearer and Alan Smith – it’s something that I think back at and feel like I’ve been robbed of something because I was flying at the time.
“Those are the reasons why I always felt like I was angry throughout my career because I always felt like I had to prove it because I wasn’t going to get the recognition I deserved.”
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Wright, who went on to win 33 caps and score nine goals for England, missed out on the ‘94 World Cup due to Taylor failing to qualify for the tournament.
Terry Venables also left him out of his Three Lions squad for Euro ‘96 before he was cruelly ruled out of Glenn Hoddle’s 1998 World Cup team through injury.
Wright’s last appearance for England came in a friendly against Czech Republic in November 1998 shortly after he left Arsenal, where he won the Premier League and two FA Cups, for West Ham.
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