Lille chiefs were left incensed by Arsenal when Park Chu-young rocked up in London.
The retired South Korea international, an idol in his homeland, was playing for a Monaco side that suffered relegation from Ligue 1 in 2011.
4
After three years at the Louis II Stadium, it was time to depart and a move for Park to champions Lille was in the pipeline.
The striker had agreed a contract worth roughly £40,000-a-week after a fee was struck with Monaco worth around £3million.
He had even completed the first part of his medical, but when the club expected him to turn up for the second part, he was nowhere to be found.
When they went to his hotel room, it was empty.
There was no phone call, no message, nothing. Lille chiefs were baffled.
Little did they know, Park had disappeared across the English Channel to London to sign for Arsenal in August 2011 instead.
“We haven’t had a telephone call, nothing,” said Michel Seydoux, Lille chairman.
“From what we understand he could be at Arsenal.”
It was quite the sting for Lille, who thought they had snapped up a real talent for a bargain price.
Legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was understandably happy regarding the last-minute hijack.
4
“He will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable addition to the squad,” he said.
Park was subsequently handed the No.9 jersey, with the joyous striker declaring it was a dream come true.
He remarked: “I am very honoured and I feel very happy to be at Arsenal.
“It is a dream to be here and I am really proud to be an Arsenal player. Now I just want to show how good I am and prove myself.”
In 2011, Park was already South Korea’s captain.
Years before, he led the South Korean Under-20s to glory at the 2004 AFC Youth Championship, where he scored six goals – including two in the final.
4
It saw him win the MVP award, as well as the Golden Ball, but there was more to come when he was named Asia’s Young Player of the Year.
So when Lille saw him slip through their fingers, it might be understandable to feel the club’s fury.
However, Park’s decision to ditch the Ligue 1 outfit did not work out very well for him as he featured in just seven games for Arsenal during his three years in north London.
His only Premier League outing came in the January 2012 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates, with Park unable to make an impact in the team due to Robin van Persie, who ended the season with 30 league goals.
Meanwhile his only goal came against Bolton in the League Cup in October 2011 – a beautiful curling strike into the bottom right corner to seal a 2-1 victory.
4
During his time at Arsenal, he was shipped off on loan to Celta Vigo and Watford, which ended up as fruitless endeavours, before being released by the Gunners in 2014.
Before Cristiano Ronaldo made it fashionable, Park moved to the Saudi Pro League where he signed for Al Shabab for one year before returning to his naive South Korea with FC Seoul.
A move to fellow K-League outfit Ulsan Hyundai followed, where he won the Korean top-flight in the 2022 season.
Ulsan proceed to win the league title in 2023 and 2024, with Park eventually calling time on his career last summer at the age of 39.
While he enjoyed success in his career, he may come to regret moving to Arsenal, where he remains one of their most bizarre signings.
