Tottenham inadvertently paid for a star player's taxi to Arsene Wenger's house, resulting in them losing out on a big transfer to their cross-town rivals.
Arsenal's managerial appointment of Wenger in 1996 transformed the club as they enjoyed great success under the Frenchman's tutelage.
That was helped through the manager's shrewd dealings in the transfer window, with Emmanuel Petit proving to be a revelation signing.
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But the pony-tailed midfielder nearly joined Spurs, having discussed a move with chairman Alan Sugar.
However, the Gunners caught wind of the meeting, with Wenger hijacking the transfer.
He was told not to sign anything until he had at least heard from Wenger's pitch about Arsenal.
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After all, Wenger was the man who nurtured Petit at AS Monaco. Arsenal's interception prompted Petit to ask Sugar for more time about the proposed offer at his hotel.
What's more, Spurs paid for his taxi to drive him there, but Petit used the cab to head to Wenger's house, where he was joined by David Dein, who eventually secured his services in a deal worth £3.5 million.
Speaking in 2018, Petit said: "It was the first time I met David Dein and Tottenham paid for the cab to help me sign for Arsenal. It’s part of the legend now.
"I knew the rivalry but not how big it was. David Dein still loves that story - and [more than] 20 years later he’s still telling it!"
Petit clearly made the right decision with Arsenal winning the league and cup double in his debut season.
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But his initial arrival changed the atmosphere at the club, according to Ray Parlour who recalled on talkSPORT: "When the French lads came over, the atmosphere was a little different.
"Us British guys had a little bit more fun."
He added: "Dennis Bergkamp was another one, they were a little more bit serious and we tried to get a bit of fun out of them.
"They did change quickly and they did really enjoy the banter, but every now again, for example, Manu Petit sometimes would walk straight past you.
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"You’d say, 'morning, Manu', and he’d walk straight past you.
"He did it to all the players. He did it to Tony Adams, he did it to David Seaman and that’s not acceptable.
"Whatever problems you have, you say good morning to somebody, don’t you? It’s very rude if you just walk past someone. It’s just having that respect for other people.
"So, one morning we nailed him against the wall and told him: 'Make sure you say good morning to everybody because, if you don’t, we’ll cut your ponytail off!'
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"We even had scissors.
"After that, he was good as gold."
Topics: Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Football
Nasir Jabbar