Emmanuel Petit came extremely close to signing for Tottenham Hotspur before deciding to make the move to the other side of North London.
Petit is one of the most iconic players of the Premier League, arriving in England from Monaco in 1997 and playing 85 times for the Gunners over three seasons.
Following a brief spell at Barcelona, the Frenchman returned to England, spending three years as a Chelsea player, playing 55 times for the Blues.
The defensive midfielder, who was also capped 63 times by France, was part of Arsenal’s double-winning side in the 1997-98 season.
However, it turns out that history could have turned out a lot differently, with Petit revealing that he almost completed a move to White Hart Lane before Arsenal came calling.
He explained that he chose to move to Highbury instead due to his connection with Arsene Wenger, who was the man who handed him his debut with Monaco.
The 53-year-old told The Mirror: “The same day I joined Arsenal, I was in the Spurs office. They paid for a cab for me to go and sign for Arsenal. It’s been 26 years now. You can turn the page, close the books and move on.
“Sometimes you have to feel what your heart is telling you, not your head. I wanted to reunite with Arsene. He brought me into the first team in Monaco.
“He took me from the academy, I was not a professional, and was playing for the first team for European finals, the French cup final, for the big prizes all the time.
“I was enjoying my life, and I know what I owe to Arsene, more as a person than as a player because he was acting as a father with me for years and years.”
Spurs Web Opinion
One cannot really blame Petit for picking Arsenal as the Gunners were far ahead of us as a club at the time, with Tottenham struggling throughout the 1990s and even flirting with relegation on a couple of occasions.
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