The ex-Ivory Coast star starred for two Premier League-winning sides, and ought to go down as one of the league’s great imports
By any measure, Kolo Toure had a noteworthy career, and certainly exceeded expectations after joining Arsenal in a bargain deal from ASEC Mimosas in 2002.
The former Ivory Coast defender, who is an assistant coach to Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers these days, was signed by Arsene Wenger in February 2002 but didn’t feature for the remainder of the 01/02 season.
While statistics will show he made 27 appearances in 02/03, only nine were starts, and a young Toure had to play second fiddle to Martin Keown and Sol Campbell in a campaign that saw the North London side throw away an eight-point lead with nine games remaining.