Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira admits his move to Arsenal almost never happened.
Vieira signed for £3.5million from AC Milan and became the first building block in Arsene Wenger's quest to lead his new side into an exciting new era.
But first there was that glimpse back into the past, from where Adams set the example for Vieira to follow.
"I'd often run into Arsene in the stands in Milan," Vieira told the News of the World.
"In a way, we were both spectators who were not doing very much. His season at Nagoya finished in October, he knew he was going to join Arsenal and I was hardly ever in the AC Milan team. So he asked if I was interested in moving.
"I was supposed to sign for Ajax, who were beginning to lose the players that had won them the Champions League two years earlier.
"I only found out recently that the Ajax deal didn't go through simply because of agents' fees. It's funny how a career can swing on such a detail.
"So anyway, - I ended up signing for Arsenal. I was completely out of my depth and didn't know what was happening.
"The first thing that happened was on one of my first days when Tony Adams started talking to everyone in the changing room.
"I could see that there was a lot of emotion among the players but I didn't understand a word and I wondered what on earth was happening.
"I learned later in the day that Tony Adams was, in fact, telling everyone that he was an alcoholic."
