Former Arsenal centre back Pascal Cygan has revealed the extraordinary lengths that Lokomotiv Moscow once went to disturb them ahead of a Champions League tie.
The Gunners travelled to Russia on September 30, 2003 for a group-stage encounter.
The match ended 0-0 but it isn't the scoreline that Cygan, who was an unused substitute, remembers.
The night before the match, the 45-year-old claims that a plethora of models sent by Lokomotiv were in the Arsenal team hotel in a bid to keep them busy.
Recalling the incident, he told La Voix du Nord: 'When we entered our hotel in Moscow there were ten Russian top models waiting for us.
'They were seated in front of the bar.
'We were later told that they had been there to tire us out during the night before the match.
'We didn't lose, and as far as I remember none of our players was stupid enough to fall into the trap.
'That was just as well, given the situation at that time.
'Stories about players' private lives used to appear regularly in the papers.'
Despite being held for a draw, Arsenal did manage to beat Lokomotiv 2-0 in the reverse fixture as they qualified from Group B.
However, Arsenal's European adventure was curtailed by that Wayne Bridge goal during their Champions League tie with Chelsea.
Lauceikpuz
1
wonder how many models did emery take in everyday, he cannot concentrate on his job coaching
FaithEvans
0
Wow! That's the level of fear factor we used to have... if we play Lokomotiv Moscow nowadays, with this set of overpaid frauds, they need not distract us, they'll go on to enjoy the models themselves and still manage to win the match, not forgetting to successfully shoot 20-something times on goal under the influence of alcohol [Crylaugh]
mudacdnrsz
1
L Moscow using such dirty trick?
dee_59
3
Current Arsenal team plays in 2nd tier European Championship. Also with Emery at the wheel, opposition don't have to use any tack ticks to distract the players. Emery's plans are good enough to sink their ship.