The Rory Delap era at Stoke City almost never happened. Poor Arsene Wenger.
"He was on loan from Sunderland when we were still in the Championship. He played against them about a week into his loan ... and broke his leg, right in front of where I was sat," said Mark Taylor, an analyst who consults for Premier League clubs but also roots for Stoke City. "Instead of sending him back, which we could have, we rehabilitated him and honoured the subsequent fee. Shows how keen [former Stoke manager Tony] Pulis was to sign him and that he already had the throw as a planned tactic.