Classic Transfer: Arsenal snap up France midfielder Emmanuel Petit for £2.5 million

That's what Arsene Wenger managed to pick Monaco captain Emmanuel Petit up for in June 1997.

The sum of £2.5 million would be just about enough to purchase you an unproven Polish midfielder by the name of Krystian Bielik by today's standards.

But 18 years ago it was enough to secure the services of a man who would go on to become one of the finest central midfielders in the game.

While Gilles Grimandi also arrived on the same day as his countryman, from the same club, it would be Petit who had a major impact at Highbury.

The pony-tailed Frenchman began his career with minnows ES Arques-la-Bataille, before then Monaco manager Wenger first spotted his countryman's obvious talent.

The teenager, who was initially fielded as a defender, became a key member of the side and, while Le Professeur trotted off to expand his footballing education with Nagoya Grampus in Japan, Petit stayed with the principality outfit.

Petit became club captain and led Monaco to only their sixth Ligue 1 title during the 1996/97 season, which proved to be his last at the Stade Louis II.

Initially he held talks with Tottenham Hotspur, but having pulled the wool over Spurs' owner Alan Sugar's eyes – taking a cab to the red half of north London rather than the nearest airport – Petit joined the Gunners and formed instant understanding with countryman Patrick Vieira.

The pair underpinned Arsenal's 1997/98 double winning campaign, before departing for the 1998 World Cup.

Only Petit started the final against Brazil, but it was substitute Vieira's perfectly weighted pass that set up Petit to score his country's third goal and secure a maiden world title for Les Bleus.

Meanwhile, the double proved to be the last silverware that Petit would win at Highbury, bar two Charity Shield victories.

But thanks in part to Petit's impact, Arsenal had become the only serious challengers to Manchester United's almost complete Premier League dominance.

Goals may not have been claimed by the hatful, but he contributed several memorable strikes during his time with the Gunners, including a piledriver against Derby County and a deft chip against Tottenham Hotspur.

Defence splitting passes were more his thing, although he also turned his hand to acting in a 1998 episode of police TV drama The Bill.

While his acting left something to be desired, Petit's intelligence and composure with a football did not go unnoticed across the continent.

He answered the Camp Nou's call in the summer of 2000 and agreed to join Barcelona alongside fellow Gunner Marc Overmars.

The double deal made Arsenal a whopping profit margin of 300 per cent, but while Petit may not have been the most flamboyant member of Wenger's first great Gunners side, he was vital nonetheless.

Grimandi, meanwhile, was a figure who may not have made headlines during his five years in north London, but was a reliable squad player.

Now 44 years old, he is currently an Arsenal scout, sourcing new talent across the channel for his former club.