Ian Wright

Background

About Ian Wright

A right old mix of South and North London; that’s me. Brockley born and bred, dragged up in Crystal Palace and raised by the Arsenal FC family. I couldn’t be prouder of that mash up; it made me the footballer I finally became, and the man, father and football pundit I am today. You can read about a lot of my mistakes (and some of my successes!) online. There’s nowhere to hide them. To be honest, they’re probably all true. But despite them all, I’ve got my place among Arsenal legends and Premier League English legends. I’m truly humbled by that. Who’d have thought “Ian Wright” and “legend” would ever be said in the same breath? Not most of the people I grew up around, that’s for sure. What’s nice is that I can talk about having it tough as a kid, about how football was my saviour but also how it nearly broke me. About being a family man, and learning how to be that from some of the most unlikely role models. About how I haven’t always been a good dad. That there’s been a lot of failure in my life. And that Ian Wright the happy full of live football pundit you see on TV is me after many, many years of rejection, tears, sweat and punch-ups. I am very fortunate to now have a post playing career as a football pundit and broadcaster for the BBC, ITV & Premier League whilst also being an ambassador for Barclays, Specsavers and Cadbury.