New Arsenal star Toure (MikeHewitt/Allsport)

His parents and their six children still living in the poverty-stricken West African country now have a new £25,000 home.

And it was no small gesture on the part of Toure, the 21-year-old who burst on to the Premiership scene in stunning fashion on Sunday when he scored the equaliser for 10-man Arsenal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Toure only arrived in England on trial in February and played just two reserve games before manager Arsene Wenger had seen enough to sign him on a two-year contract.

That, however, did not put Toure in the same salary bracket as the World Cup winners and Premiership champions who surrounded him at Highbury. Nowhere near, in fact. He is unlikely to be on one-tenth of the £40,000 a week that the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp earn.

But to Toure, the family means everything. His father has recently retired from the military and his meagre pension does not go far in a country where the average wage is below £50-a-month. So Toure junior, a devout Muslim, sent back a huge chunk of his salary every month and the house is now complete.

The gesture will surprise no-one at Highbury where his infectious enthusiasm and bubbly personality have endeared him to everyone.

And it has not surprised Roland Scheubel. He has been a close friend of Wenger's for some 30 years and witnessed the Arsenal manager's start in professional football at Mulhouse. Scheubel was a journalist on a local paper and went on to become head of the commercial department at Olympique Marseille.

He has retired now but has kept in touch with Wenger, who trusts his judgement about potential talent. And when Scheubel recommended he look at the young Ivorian, Wenger listened. He needed little convincing to give Toure his chance and a transfer fee of around £150,000 was soon paid to his club, ASEC Mimosas.

'I have known Arsene a long time,' said Scheubel. 'I saw his first game as a player and we have been friends ever since. He said he would like a look at Kolo and he liked what he saw.

'For Kolo, there was no choice to make once he knew that Arsenal wanted to sign him. He did have a problem with his back for two months but he is fit now and basically just loves playing football.'

Scheubel first saw Toure play at an academy run by former French international Jean-Marc Guillou - a mutual friend of Wenger and Scheubel - in Abidjan.

'He was only 12 but he looked so strong and powerful. He stood out and I have followed his career closely ever since. I am sure he can be a success at Arsenal. His approach to football is marvellous. He just wants to play.'

The Ivory Coast has made a few high-profile exports in recent years. Ibrahima Bakayoko was at Everton for a spell and is now at Marseille, Bonaventure Kalou is with Feyenoord and at Genk, Didier Zokora has earned the nickname of Maestro.

There is another member of the Toure family who may one day join his brother at Highbury. Yaya is three years younger than Kolo but already figures prominently at Belgian club Beveren, with which Arsenal have a partnership.

Arsenal send youngsters to Beveren to give them first-team experience. Goalkeeper Graham Stack is there for the season. If the younger Toure flourishes in Belgium, then Arsenal may well team him with his brother.

'You could see how Kolo had the right attitude when he was injured,' said Scheubel. 'When his back problem was cured he returned to the club in June and trained alone for one month to make sure he was in the right condition.'

The fact he ended up in north London shows how Wenger works. He has scouts and contacts all over the world and chief scout Steve Rowley never tires of recounting a conversation he had with Wenger some years ago.

Rowley was at the World Youth Championships in Malaysia and his manager rang him to find out if there were any promising players. 'I have seen one,' said Rowley. 'His name is Bonaventure, er...'

Wenger helped him, saying: 'That will be Bonaventure Kalou. He comes from the Ivory Coast, he is 17 but there could be work permit problems. But a good player.'