Jermaine Pennant's dad responsible for £2m move to Arsenal

Jermaine Pennant reveals the stunning details of his early career from going behind his agent’s back at 15 to join Arsenal to hailing Steve Bruce when he was in prison… and being hungover and stinking of booze when he scored a Premier League hat-trick

• Jermaine Pennant reflects on his career in a new documentary called Fever Pitch
• The winger was regarded as the elite talent of his generation as a 15-year-old
• Pennant also said his father was behind his lucrative deal with the Gunners 

Jermaine Pennant has lifted the lid on his extraordinary career, detailing how he earned a move to Premier League heavyweights Arsenal before later overcoming a prison sentence to return to the sport while at Birmingham City among his tales.

Pennant was widely tipped as the greatest player of his generation – making his debut as a professional at the age of 15 at Notts County, then of the Second Division which is now League One.

In January 1999, the winger made headlines when he joined Arsenal in a £2million deal without his agent’s consent.

Blindsiding his agent Sky Andrew at the time, Pennant explained on the new Paramount+ documentary Fever Pitch how his father was the driving force behind the transfer. 

‘One day an agent turned up, literally out of the blue. He wasn’t my agent at the time. My agent had always been Sky Andrew,’ he recalled.

Jermaine Pennant has spoken about the early part of his career which began at Notts County

Pennant joined Arsenal as a 15-year-old – moving to the Gunners for £15million in 1999

Pennant went behind his then-agent Sky Andrew’s back to secure a move to Arsenal as a teen

‘But, he said I have two teams you can go to right now. Tottenham or Arsenal. So, my father said come on, we’re going into London and we’re going to speak to Arsenal. 

‘I was just like okay then. I literally just got in this Range Rover and shot down the M1 and went to Highbury.’

Meanwhile, Andrew said: ‘I got a call to ask me whether I had any comment about my client moving to Arsenal. I said I don’t know anything about it. I was fuming. I said to his dad Jermaine is 15 and he needs to stay in school. But he didn’t want to know.’

Andrew went on to add: ‘The other agent dealing directly with the family wanted to make money and do the deal. So the agent forced through a move.’

Pennant then made his debut as a 16-year-old in the League Cup against Middlesbrough – making him their youngest-ever first team player.

It wasn’t until the 2002-03 season that he tasted Premier League football but the end of that campaign was a memorable one for several reasons as he made his full debut for the Gunners in a 6-1 thumping win over Southampton on May 7, 2003. 

Pennant admitted that he had been out partying until 6am on the day of the game before he scored a hat-trick.

The winger said he could even feel the vodka bouncing in his stomach as he helped the Gunners thrash Southampton 6-1 at Highbury in 2003.

Pennant admitted that he had been out partying until 6am on the day of the game before he scored a hat-trick on his full league debut for Arsenal 

Pennant still managed to net a hat-trick in a 6-1 win against Southampton at Highbury 

The winger fires his first goal in a memorable full Arsenal first-team debut for many reasons

Pennant didn’t think he would be picked for any of Arsenal’s remaining fixtures that season and instead went out partying the night before their game with the Saints.

Much to his surprise though, Arsene Wenger decided to throw him into the mix not knowing of the teenager’s escapades just hours before.

‘FHM was throwing a party at a night club in London and I thought I’ll go. I told myself I wouldn’t drink and that I would be home by 12,’ Pennant reflected.

‘Next moment I know it’s 6am by the time I get home. I’ve also consumed a lot of vodka. The next day before the game we were having a pre-match meal and a team meeting from Wenger. 

‘I’ve had like three hours sleep and I’m stinking of alcohol. Wenger pulls the board down and reads out the team. He says my name.

‘I double took and it definitely said Pennant. My heart sunk to my stomach. I had Patrick Vieira sat to the right of me and he turns to me and says Jermaine this is your time. I’m thinking to myself, Patrick, no it’s really not my time. This is the worst time. Not today, no. 

‘All through the day I am downing bottles of water. I’m back and forth to the toilet. Wenger tried to give me some instructions and I’m turning the opposite way. He must be thinking what is wrong with this kid. 

‘I kept thinking, ‘you can’t play this game. You’re going to embarrass yourself and it’s going to set you back years’. So I’m thinking of ways to come off. I am thinking maybe my hamstring.

‘But then the game is flowing. I get another chance and I score two. I’m thinking right get to half-time, you’ve scored two, job done. I scored another one and I’m thinking Jesus Christ. I can stay on now, I can do anything.

‘We won 6-1 and no one knows any better. I was getting high fives and I was thinking ‘wow great’. But, I wouldn’t advise it. I got away with that one, that’s for sure.’

Pennant said he was surprised when he saw Arsene Wenger had named him in the team

Pennant recalled how Patrick Vieira told him it was his time to shine before the game

Despite his extraordinary start, he only made five full starts for Arsenal in seven years, and was shipped out on loan to various clubs where his personal problems continued.

In 2005, he was jailed for three months for drink-driving while disqualified after crashing his friend’s Mercedes into a lamp-post. After 30 days in prison he was released and his club Birmingham City stood by him, and he became the first player to play in the Premier League with an electronic tag on his ankle.

Even 18 years on he remains indebted to then-Birmingham boss Steve Bruce – likening his approach to being ‘like a dad’ during that dark period of his career and life.

He said: ‘Steve Bruce was magnificent. He is the only person that has gone out of his way massively to make sure I am alright and show me that there is a future for me at the club. 

‘He even went to visit me while I was inside, which was unheard of. When I got out, he said I’ve got an apartment and you can stay there. Just little things like that were massive.

‘Some players might have needed a stiff telling off but I needed love. I needed someone to put their arm around me. Steve Bruce was like a dad. He gave me a second opportunity and I didn’t want to ruin it.’

Pennant is still grateful for his career and thanked Steve Bruce for ‘going out of his way’ to make sure he was okay and for giving him a ‘second chance’

After 15 clubs in 19 years, Pennant’s football career ended without the achievements many had expected when he became England’s great hopes as a 16-year-old

His football career continued with a big money move to Liverpool, earning him even more cash and a Champions’ League runners-up medal before falling out of favour.

During one highly-paid spell at Real Zaragoza in Spain, he forgot he had a Porsche, leaving it with a key on the seat outside a station. After the penny dropped he picked it up later with five months of parking tickets to pay.

After 15 clubs in 19 years Pennant’s football career ended without the achievements many had expected when he became one of England’s great future hopes as a 16-year-old. 

After retirement he earned cash on the last series of Celebrity Big Brother and media commitments, including one occasion where he was accused of being drunk on Sky Sports News.

Pennant declared bankruptcy in January after battling demons in his private life. Those included problems with alcohol, womanising and years battling a gambling addiction that has left him £1m in debt.

The Premier League’s coming-of-age story, is available exclusively on Paramount+ from May 7.

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