Even though he was only watching the game on television, Arsène Wenger knew he had witnessed something special.
England had travelled to Solna for a crucial European Championship qualifier against Sweden back in September 1998, but their experienced defenders were being run ragged by a fresh-faced 21-year-old called Freddie Ljungberg.
Sweden would go on to win the match 2-1 but the result didn’t matter to Wenger. The only thing on his mind after watching Ljungberg’s performance was securing the youngster’s signature as soon as possible.
“In this game, it was all his character,” the manager told Arsenal Player.