Ian Wright has revealed how he nearly threw his football career away after smoking cannabis on the eve of a Crystal Palace game.

The Arsenal legend and his team-mates were celebrating a 4-1 win over West Brom when drug testers arrived in the dressing room.

Having called up Mark Bright's number nine, they skipped number 10 Wright and jumped to number 11 - Phil Barber - in a let off for the young striker.

Wright, in extracts from his new book A Life in Football serialised in The Sun, says he has never smoked cannabis since after realising how close he had got to putting his career in jeopardy.