'I refused Arsenal captain's order at training camp – he banned me from nights out for months'

Daily Mirror

a day ago

David Bentley has opened up on the punishment he received from Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira after he sat in the skipper's seat while the squad were away at a training camp
David Bentley has shared a hilarious anecdote about how Patrick Vieira banned him from nights out for months after the captain was teased at a training camp. Bentley – once tipped to be Arsenal's next big star – emerged in the first team set-up from the Gunners' academy back in 2001.
‌
Arsene Wenger 's tenure in north London is remembered as one of the most iconic in the club's history, including their unbeaten Premier League-winning season in 2003/04. While raw talent and exceptional teamwork were key to Arsenal's triumphs in the early noughties.
‌
However, the squad's no-nonsense approach both on and off the pitch – epitomised by Vieira's stern presence – also played a significant role. This was something Bentley quickly discovered after graduating from the Hale End youth system, finding himself in hot water with Vieira during his first training camp away with the senior stars.
‌
Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, the now 40-year-old recalled his cheeky-chap antics as a teen at Arsenal, saying: "We used to go to Austria to this training camp where they always wanted to go up in the mountains, out the way. And I had no idea, it was my first time.
"We've come down for breakfast, and what happened at Arsenal – it probably happens everywhere – was you had a French table, the English table, everybody used to kind of sit with people they get on with.
"I've come down, me being me, I'm just wanting to be friends with everyone. I think I'm mates with everyone. French tables there, I think there's [Sylvain] Wiltord, [Robert] Pires and whoever. And there's a seat and I went, 'I'm sitting there.' So I've stepped in, and I've sat down and I went, 'Morning lads, you alright?' You know, 'What you up to last night? Have a good w***?' And all that, trying to be their mate.
"And cause I don't like silence as well, I thought they can do that can't they? Be all calm. And as I've sat there, I've looked around and these lot are smirking. I'm going, 'They're on me here, I'm going to have to back myself up. They're mugging me off.'
"And I just got a big slap, and I'm sat and I've looked up and Patrick, club captain... 'Get out my seat. You're in my seat.' And do you know when you're like, 'Ah f***, I'm red.'
‌
"In that moment, I thought, 'If I say yes, I'm going to look like a right mug, and if I say no, I'm going to look like a right mug. I can't win.' So I went with the option of, 'No.'"
Bentley then revealed how he instantly wished he'd backed down, with Vieira stopping him from going out with his team-mates for months afterwards. He added (via Football London): "I mean, me and him are good mates now, and we were after and he quite liked it.
‌
"But for three, four months, I wasn't allowed to go on lads' nights out. I was kicked... honestly, every training session he'd snap me. I used to love it, I used to play with it. I used to go, 'Patrick, where we going tonight son?!' I think I turned up a couple of times, 'I know I'm not invited, but shut up!'"
Sadly for Bentley, his time at Arsenal didn't quite pan out as expected, with only nine appearances to his name before being transferred to Blackburn Rovers in 2006.
After netting 21 goals and providing an equal number of assists for Rovers, Bentley made his way back to north London to join Tottenham Hotspur.
His career also included loan stints with Birmingham City, West Ham, Rostov and Blackburn before he decided to hang up his boots in July 2014, aged just 29.