Ian Wright Details Marijuana-Smoking 'Ritual,' Potential Bankruptcy and More

Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright has lifted the lid on some of his troubled times as a footballer, including a close call with drug-testers after he’d been smoking marijuana.

In his new autobiography, A Life In Football, serialised in the Sun, the ex-England international revealed he came close to suffering a setback early in his career at Crystal Palace, as drug-testers entered the team dressing room after a 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

For the striker, this near miss was a big wake-up call:

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It’s the first time I’d ever seen them and I panicked inside—I’ve been smoking cannabis, less than 24 hours earlier, and if that test comes back positive that’s it. It is literally all over for me.

I’m practically paralysed while trying to act unconcerned. The guy says: ‘Drug test, number nine.’ Mark Bright. I’m sure he’s going to call my number next, number ten. He calls, ‘Drug test, number 11.’ Phil Barber.

I sit down—more or less collapse—and think, ‘somebody’s looking out for me, now I know it!’ …From that day to this I never smoked a spliff again.

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Wright said, as a 21-year-old breaking into the Eagles first team, he still had some bad habits at the time.

“I’d been around weed smokers from a very early age, and recently it had become something of an end-of-the-week ritual,” he said. “It didn’t even dawn on me that I was doing anything wrong.”

Had Wright suffered such a sizeable early setback, the face of English football may have looked a whole lot different today. Indeed, while he enjoyed success in his six years at Crystal Palace, it was at Arsenal where he made his name, winning the Premier League once, the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, too.

In total, he scored a staggering 185 goals in 288 games for the Gunners, a mark only bettered by Thierry Henry in the history of the club.

Here is a look at some of his best moments in the famous red-and-white jersey:

As well as struggles with drugs, Wright also revealed the financial issues he’s had to endure, suggesting some monetary experts have advised him to go bankrupt in the past. It’s advice he’s decided not to heed.

“I refuse to do that because it would take me decades to get out from under that. I’d be about 85!” he wrote in his book, per the Sun. “My punditry career would be over. I’d be a prominent black man who had a successful career and ended up bankrupt...they’d probably say I spent it all on weed, or that I lavished it all on cars, clothes and an extravagant lifestyle.”

Indeed, Wright also revealed he has lost eight houses that he owned, and he is “at the complete mercy of HM Revenue & Customs because of things that happened back then.”

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Despite these problems in the past, Wright suggested he’s now on the right path and, having fathered eight children to four different women, has finally been able to find a sense of fulfilment later in life.

“In my home life I couldn’t be happier,” said the former striker. “It’s taken me until the age of 52 to properly learn what love is. I didn’t experience an enormous amount of love from my mum when I was a child, so I’ve had to learn what it is and learn how to be happy and at peace.”

Currently, the 52-year-old is a regular and engaging pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day programme, BT Sport and has also been a member of the ITV Sport panel for England games, most recently during the summer’s UEFA European Championship.