14th June 2001, Arsenal fans were delighted when the club announced that Everton’s English striker, Francis Jeffers would be joining the club – £8million upfront, £2million in add-ons depending on appearances.

Following Thierry Henry’s claims that the Gunners needed more stealth in the box, Jeffers – who was nicknamed ‘Fox-in-the-Box’ – was seen as the perfect striker to provide that element of ‘stealth’.

We all know now, after just eight goals in 40 appearances for Wenger’s side, that Jeffers wasn’t the striker we thought he could be. However, speaking recently to the Independent, the former Arsenal striker admitted that he perhaps wasn’t spending his time wisely during his stint in north London, Jeffers said: “I was out, parting, living life – tossing it off in training because I wouldn’t play on Saturday anyway.

“Now I look back with a lot of regrets. That is where I should have been putting it in more.

“Arsene Wenger gave me a fair crack of the whip. I haven’t got a bad word to say about him.

“He tells you how it is, one of the only managers I played for who did.’

“I am not saying I threw it all away because I had a decent career,”

“I fulfilled a lot of ambitions but I always say it, I know how much ability I had. I’m not soft. I know how good a player I was. One [England] cap wasn’t enough.”

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