When Arsene some how found himself keeping the man and his dog company at a non league German match between SC Feucht and ESC Rangierbahnof Nurnberz, there was a number of players he could have been watching. Yet the one you really wanted him to bring back to Highbury was the German midfielder of Spanish descent.

German Footballers. Stamina, efficiency, work rate, will to win, nerve and penalties.

Spanish Footballers. Technically gifted. An eye for a pass. Skillful.

Fuse the two together. Xavi crossed with Ballack in his prime?

No. Alberto Mendez.

You'd like to think that Arsene saw a hint of at least one of the above traits when Mendez was picked up from such obscurity. He must have surely been impressed?

"Alberto was terrible when I went to watch him."

Oh. To be fair to Mendez, he was drunk. "We had already had plenty of unofficial promotion parties. I'd played but I was far from my best".

Not to worry Alberto. Arsene's eyesight stretched a lot further than it normally does on that day: "I could still see he had potential."

Ah of course, potential. Fair enough. Maybe it was the same sort of potential seen in Vieira, all be it at the slightly higher level of Serie A and AC Milan. Best not to judge a book by its cover....

He joined for £250k from SC Feucht in the summer of 1997. Unveiled alongside Overmars, Petit, Grimandi and Manninger, he must have wondered what he was doing there. He was immediately handed the coveted No23 shirt, way before Beckham took the same number at Madrid in tribute. Season ticket sales soared. Arsene did little to dampen the flame.

"There is something very special about him".

And so we waited. Excitedly. Until the Carling Cup came along and Alberto showed us what he was all about. Coming on as a substitute against Birmingham City, he put the icing on a 4-1 victory with his first Arsenal goal of not any more, with a solid drive from a Boa Morte cut back. He'd impressed.

But that was to be his peak. His first season did win us the Double. His lurking in the squad wings doubtedly drove Parlour on to some fine performances that year.

I also seem to remember him appearing in a meaningless Champions League Group game. The kind you might be offered the chance to play in yourself if you were about and with boots.

Over the next five years he made 11 appearances. Only four in the league. If you're wondering why he stayed with us for five years, I hazard to guess that's the length of contract we offered and Alberto sat it out knowing he wasn't going to receive the same money anywhere else in the whole wide world.

This is probably proved by the list of clubs he has represented. Spot the odd one out, and wonder how the f**k he managed to earn the legacy of playing for The Arsenal:

Feucht, Arsenal, AEK Athens (loan), Unterhaching, Racing Ferrol (loan), Racing Ferrol, Terrassa, Feucht, Bayreuth, Darmstadt, Sandhausen and Weiden.

But don't blame Alberto. He tried to warn Arsene before he signed him. "The next morning our coach rang to say Arsène wanted to sign me and I told him that he too must still be under the influence. When I went to London for talks I told Arsène three times 'you've watched me just the once, I played badly and you still want to sign me. I just don't understand it'."

You're not the only one. Maybe a forth time would have drilled it home.