Ian Wright turned up to the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast in a wheelchair after undergoing surgery on his knee.
The Arsenal icon was initially wheeled in by Manchester United icon Roy Keane before taking his seat alongside Gary Neville, Jill Scott and Paul Scholes after using crutches.
Scott laughed at the sight of Keane steering Wright, comparing it to something from Little Britain.
And the Arsenal icon then explained he was using a wheelchair because he was recovering from knee replacement surgery.
Ian Wright is using a wheelchair after the Arsenal icon recently underwent surgery on his knee
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On the newest episode, Wright opened up on the Gunners.
They were poor on Saturday as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth, with William Saliba dismissed for the clash.
The Frenchman will, consequently, miss Sunday’s blockbuster clash with Liverpool – who currently sit top of the Premier League table.
But Wright opted to blame Ben White and Raheem Sterling instead, saying the lack of ‘chemistry’ between the pair cost them dear.
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“Going into the [Bournemouth] game, with the way Bournemouth are and how hard they work and press – especially [Antoine] Semenyo – we [Arsenal] couldn’t deal with Semenyo in that game,” he said.
“It was Raheem Stirling and Ben White; they haven’t got the same chemistry as White and [Bukayo] Saka.
“We saw how much we miss someone like Saka – Semenyo was too much for us physically and skillfully.
“It’s still not quite clicking for Raheem. I thought it was going to be a tough game – I didn’t expect us to lose the game – but when you look at the two mistakes we made, you should get punished for those and we did.”
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Wright also criticised Arsenal’s midfield trio of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino.
The former England star would have preferred for Mikel Arteta to give youngster Ethan Nwaneri a chance to impress instead in the absence of club captain Martin Odegaard.
“When I saw [Mikel] Merino, [Thomas] Partey and [Declan] Rice – I was thinking [Ethan] Nwaneri, the youngster,” he continued.
“Against Bournemouth, you need someone who can do something [in the middle] and create something, because that’s what was majorly missing.
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Ian Wright transferred from a wheelchair to crutches after the Arsenal icon underwent surgery
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“We needed someone to beat someone with the ball – I would have taken a chance on him – I would have had Merino, Rice and Nwaneri playing in there [the number 10], to have something different.”
While Arsenal are still in contention to win the title, a defeat to Liverpool would be a hammer blow.
And Wright has acknowledged the difficulty of the fixture, expressing a belief Arsenal must avoid defeat.
“Knowing how hard it is to make sure you’re chasing down and staying in touch with them [Manchester City], the fact is, this game against this Liverpool side who have started brilliantly [is a must not lose game],” he continued.
Ian Wright is hopeful Arsenal will beat Liverpool in their crunch Premier League clash on Sunday
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“Whatever people have been saying about how easy the start has been for Liverpool – they’ve made it easier with the way they’ve played and they’ve built momentum.
“They are coming to Arsenal now, and just like Bournemouth looked at that team sheet, thinking, ‘We’re going to have a go at them’. Liverpool will be thinking, ‘Let’s keep this tight and we can beat these guys’.
“It’s up to us to prove that they can’t. We’ll see – I’ve got pure faith in my manager.”