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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Tony Adams leaves fans in stitches with Arsenal-themed dance on Strictly debut

Tony Adams produced an outrageous Arsenal-themed dance on his Strictly Come Dancing debut on Saturday night.

The former England captain, 55, has signed up for the popular reality TV show after a glittering football career. He won 13 honours during his Arsenal career - including four league titles - and played 672 games for the club before retiring in May 2002.

Adams has also enjoyed spells in charge of Wycombe Wanderers, Portsmouth, Azerbaijani side Gabala and Spanish outfit Granada - and the ex-defender established the Sporting Chance Clinic, a charity aimed at providing support to athletes with addictions, in 2000.

Arsenal fans loved Tony Adams' Strictly Come Dancing debut (BBC)

Yet Adams' stint on Strictly is his first venture into primetime reality TV. The legendary footballer, who is paired with professional dancer Katya Jones, marked the occasion by dancing to the Pet Shop Boys' smash hit 'Go West' on his debut.

That song is well known by Arsenal supporters, as they chant "1-0 to the Arsenal" to it. And that wasn't the only nod to the Gunners on Saturday night. Adams started his routine by sitting on a huge golden cannon, which is the Premier League side's logo.

He wore red trousers, a red waistcoat and a red tie - along with a white shirt - and had "ADAMS 6" on the back of his waistcoat. Arsenal's home colours are red and white, of course, and Adams famously wore the No.6 shirt throughout his time at Highbury.

Tony Adams wore the No.6 on the back of his red waistcoat (BBC)

What did you make of Tony Adams' Strictly Come Dancing debut? Let us know in the comments below!

Strictly's live band even started signing "1-0 to the Arsenal" midway through the performance and footballs were launched on to the stage at the end. For those wondering, Adams was performing the tango - the first Arsenal-themed tango in Strictly's history.

Perhaps the most bizarre part of Adams' performance was when he held his hands out and started pushing them back and forth. That was a nod to his time in charge of Granada, as a clip of him doing that during a training session went viral in 2017.

Adams' performance didn't go down too well with the judges, as he received scores of three, four, four and four - a total of 15 points. For those of you unaware, the scoring is out of 10 and not five. That was by some way the lowest score of the night.

Adams danced in front of a large cannon (BBC)

Although the judges didn't like Adams' routine, Arsenal did. "We love it," tweeted their official account before posting a GIF of judges giving it 10 out of 10. Gunners fans also loved the routine, as he was described as a "hero" and a "legend" for his exploits.

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror before his debut, Adams said: "I’ve written biographies, warts and all – you know everything about me. Maybe I could do The Full Monty?

"I’ve gained a bit of weight. I’ve got a bit of muscle in areas I never thought I had, like my right buttock. I’ve still got a six-pack. You seen my 1998 topless England pictures? GQ man of the Year 1998."

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