"I was drunk but still scored a hat-trick on my debut for Arsenal" - Jermaine Pennant

Jermaine Pennant, a former striker for Arsenal, has spoken up about his experience with alcohol before making his debut for the club in 2003.

The Englishman said that he never anticipated being asked to participate in the match against Southampton.

Pennant made his £2 million transfer to the Gunners as a 15-year-old in 1999, and he debuted for Arsene Wenger's team in 2003.

“I’d had like three hours of sleep and I’m stinking of alcohol. [Arsene] Wenger pulls the board down and reads out the team. He says my name. I double took and it definitely said Pennant. My heart sank to my stomach,” he said in his documentary Fever Pitch, Pennant.

The striker said that he briefly considered fabricating a hamstring injury in order to be removed from the game, but the outcome of the game ultimately went in his favor.

“I scored one. I got another chance and I scored two. I scored another one and I’m thinking ‘Jesus Christ’,” he said.

Pennant scored three goals and provided the same amount of assists as assists in that specific game, which finished with Arsene Wenger's team winning 6-1.