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Sir Alex Ferguson once said he considered bringing Arsenal’s fifth-best ever player to Manchester United
As one of the biggest football clubs in the world, Arsenal have had many of the world’s best players turning out for them over the decades.
From the heroes of yesteryear like Cliff Bastin and Liam Brady to more contemporary icons like Thierry Henry and Tony Adams, Arsenal’s history books are full of legends.
Likewise, Manchester United have had plenty of iconic players on their books over the years, including some who also played for Arsenal.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s first ever signing at Old Trafford was Viv Anderson, who joined the Red Devils after three years at Highbury.
Ferguson also famously brought Dutch striker Robin van Persie from Arsenal to Manchester United back in 2012.
And the legendary Red Devils manager once admitted that he considered bringing Arsenal’s fifth-best ever player to Old Trafford.
READ MORE: Myles Lewis-Skelly names the top talent in the Arsenal academy who’ll be next in ‘coming through’
Manchester United considered moving for Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira
Back in 2005, Patrick Vieira left Arsenal to join Juventus, but the following year, the Bianconeri were punished for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.
Juve were stripped of the Serie A titles they won in 2005 and 2006, relegated to Serie B, and deducted 17 points.
This led to many of Juve’s stars leaving the club and going elsewhere, prompting Ferguson to consider bringing Vieira to Old Trafford.
However, Man United opted to sign Michael Carrick from West Ham instead, while Vieira remained in Italy with Inter Milan.
“A different type of player from Michael? The rumour-mongering might be right,” Ferguson told at the time.
“Vieira was a player in the Italian situation, which was interesting in that everyone wanted to see what the outcome was going to be.
“Once they were relegated, Juventus were the club everyone was going to target.
“(AC) Milan were not affected by the drop, therefore I don’t think any of their players will be leaving.
“Juve lost Emerson, Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta. Now they’re talking about Vieira going.
“It was something we considered, but I believe he’s accepted a really good deal from Inter. Therefore, that was the end of it.”
What if Patrick Vieira joined Manchester United?
Football is full of what-ifs, and this story is very much in that bracket – what if Vieira had gone to Man United instead of Inter?
There’s a good chance it would have tarnished his legacy at Arsenal, although this wasn’t a direct move as was the case with Van Persie.
Had Vieira joined Man United – and assuming he’d have spent the same amount of time there as he did at Inter – he would’ve won a multitude of trophies.
The Red Devils won the Premier League title in 2007, 2008 and 2009, whilst also lifting the 2009 Champions League trophy and the 2009 League Cup and Club World Cup.
Things worked out well for Man United with regards to who they signed in midfield, as Carrick ended up becoming a club legend.
Meanwhile, Vieira – who is officially Arsenal’s fifth-greatest player of all time – spent three-and-a-half years at Inter.
They became the dominant team in Italy in wake of Juve’s relegation, so Vieira received winner’s medals for four Serie A title wins in a row, plus the 2010 Champions League and two Italian Supercups.
However, injuries meant he wasn’t a regular starter, and he swapped Inter for Manchester City in January 2010 having made 67 appearances for the Nerazzurri.