I saw the personality before I got to see the player. Patrick joined Arsenal on August 14, 1996 and when he arrived, he pretended he didn’t speak English.
He signed on the same day as Remi Garde, who we knew as a tried-and-tested France international. But we didn’t know anything about the 20-year-old who walked in the door with him. He looked like he hadn’t filled out his frame yet, ungainly and hardly said a word to anyone.
One day a senior player was complaining about Patrick in the changing room. All in English — under the assumption Patrick wouldn’t understand.