The 51-year-old midfielder was one of the youngest players in the side that turned out against Parma for the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994 and he praised the “clever” manager for knowing just how to get the best out of his players, leading to their 1-0 victory.

He told Telegraph Sport: “We trained out the ground. I think Parma were training after us and they were all watching our session, which was a bit daunting.

“I was only 19. George spoke to their manager [Nevio Scala] and, he’s clever George, he came into the dressing room and said, ‘You wouldn’t believe what they’re getting paid to win this cup final!’

“We were like, ‘What, what, what are they getting?’ and he said, ‘A hundred grand a man!’ We were getting six! So, it fired the lads up.”

Ian drew parallels between their team of “massive underdogs” and the Arsenal side that will contest the Champions League final against Paris St-Germain on Saturday (30.05.26) night.

He said: “They are so hard working, they seem really close and I think they deserve it.

“As a team, we had that closeness, everyone backed each other,…

“I think Parma expected to beat us easily. You could tell in the tunnel.

“They were a little bit smiley and maybe not as focused as they should have been.”