Kolo Toure once took out Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Arsene Wenger while on trial at Arsenal in 2002, infuriating the Gunners boss with his rash tackling style during training

Kolo Touré once mowed down Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Arsène Wenger during a trial stint at Arsenal.

The former centre-back is expected to be keenly watching this afternoon's Premier League encounter between his two former clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal — and he has no shortage of compelling tales from his time at both.

Touré launched his English career with the Gunners, claiming a league title triumph in 2004, before making the move to Anfield a decade on, where he became a firm favourite with the Liverpool faithful during his three-year spell. The ex-Ivory Coast international's early impressions in north London remain the stuff of legend, having infuriated Wenger with his characteristically robust tackling during training sessions.

Touré, then a 21 year old on trial, joined a training session with the star-studded Gunners squad in 2002. Lining up alongside Henry and Bergkamp, his desperation to make an impression spectacularly backfired.

In John Cross's biography of the former Arsenal manager, Ray Parlour recounted the tale of Touré's arrival and his disregard for the unwritten rule of keeping things measured in training.

The former Premier League midfielder recalled: "I remember the ball was rolled into Thierry Henry and Kole Toure, from nowhere, smashed into him from behind.

"It was a terrible tackle, a red card in a normal game, and our best player was rolling around. Wenger was shouting: 'Kolo, what are you doing? Don't tackle!' The next minute, the ball was into Dennis Bergkamp and Kolo did exactly the same... Anyway, Wenger said: 'No more tackling.'".

"So next thing you know, Kolo Toure took him [Wenger] out with a two-footed tackle! All you could hear was Wenger screaming."

Toure subsequently confirmed the incident had indeed taken place, admitting he was left "in shock" by his own actions.

Recounting the story in 2017, the former defender revealed to Arsenal Player: "That definitely happened. It was a game and the manager was outside the game. He was not playing but he was passing the ball to the attacking players.

"The ball was going out and Mr Wenger went to get the ball. When he controlled the ball, instead of just stopping the game, I thought he was playing as well. I kept going and it was a big, big tackle.

"After that, everyone was laughing and joking but I was in shock. I was like, 'Wow, maybe that will mean I will have to leave the club'. At the end of the day, I think the tackle made him want to keep me. Maybe he saw my desire as a defender from that."