Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboué has recounted the hilarious story of when he and his ex-Gunners team-mates travelled across London to Buckingham Palace for an encounter with Her Majesty the Queen.

Whilst he was never the greatest player in the world, the 33-year-old right-back was often regarded as one of the Premier League’s most eccentric players during his time at the Emirates, and is still fondly remembered by the club’s supporters.

However, we can only imagine how much of a nightmare he must’ve been for Arsene Wenger to control sometimes, as his anecdote about Queen Elizabeth shows.

In a brilliant interview in the Telegraph, Eboue recalls: “We went there and Thierry Henry said to me: ‘Please, Emmanuel, this is Buckingham Palace, it’s the Queen’s house, don’t do anything.’

“No problem,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry’. So the Queen came in and went along shaking each player’s hand. After she’d finished I saw all her corgis so I said, ‘Ma’am, Ma’am’. She turned back and asked, ‘How are you?’ and I said, ‘Ma’am, I am OK thank you but please, I don’t want to be a footballer any more, I want to look after your dogs. I want to take them for walks, wash them, feed them. I want to be a dog carer. The Queen, honestly, she was laughing. Prince Philip was laughing too. All the team were laughing.”

So, just in case anyone is a bit fuzzy on where we stand at the moment – Eboue has just asked the Queen if he can quit playing for Arsenal to take care of her dogs.

To be fair, the story encapsulates why the Ivory Coast international was so well-liked during his stint in the Premier League, and despite going on to play for Turkish giants Galatasaray, it’s a shame he didn’t stay in London – not too far from the Queen – for a little longer.

What do you think of his story?

Let us know in the comments section below…