'I haven't got a clue where I am!' - Ron Atkinson's hilarious dugout mistake for Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

It slowly dawns on Atkinson that he's not the Arsenal manager
Ross Kinnaird /Allsport
Standard Sport20 September 2016

Arsenal face a tricky EFL Cup test against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, though Arsene Wenger will be safe in the knowledge that even a shock defeat isn't the most embarrassing thing that could happen to him the City Ground.

Ron Atkinson's final spell as a manager came with Forest during the 1998/99 season, and the coach had a first day to forget against Arsenal - which was the last time these two sides met - as he climbed into the wrong dugout.

The mistake finally dawned on Atkinson as Marc Overmars watched on in consternation, and the former Manchester United boss made way for a fresh-faced Wenger with the Gunners going on to win 1-0 courtesy of a Martin Keown goal.

Atkinson told BBC Sport in 2012 that it was one of the funniest moments of his career, saying: "I was in Barbados and got a phone call to come back and manage Nottingham Forest. I flew back overnight.

"I got to Nottingham and the lad who drove me fixed me up with a suit and overcoat. I went to the ground, walked out for the start of the game with the photographers and everybody there.

"I'm waving, I haven't got a clue where I am. I jump into a dugout and I'm waiting thinking 'come on let's get started' as we are playing Arsenal.

"I just happened to look around and I'm stood with Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Nelson Vivas and I thought, 'how are we bottom of the league with these in the team?'

"I was obviously in the wrong dugout and they show it on television even now."

In Pictures: Hull City vs Arsenal

1/20

Wenger is expected to make to ring the changes for this week’s clash, offering more opportunities for the club’s youngsters to impress in the League Cup.

Chris Willock, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chuba Akpom are among those pushing to be included in the matchday squad, while Kieran Gibbs, David Ospina and Rob Holding are also expected to feature.

As for the hosts, all eyes will be on Nicklas Bendtner, with the Dane in line to face his former club.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in