Arsenal fans have reacted to Michael Carrick revealing that he was close to joining the Gunners in 2004.
The retired midfielder – now a coach at Manchester United following a successful 12-year spell as a player at Old Trafford – was apparently set to sign for the Gunners and would have done so had it not been for Cesc Fabregas changing Arsene Wenger’s mind.
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In his new book, Between the Lines, the former player reveals having met with Wenger ahead of what he thought was going to be the deal of his life, only for the Spaniard to scupper the move.
“On the Sunday, I settled down at home in Theydon Bois, Epping, to watch Arsenal, my team to be, in the Community Shield against Manchester United,” Carrick wrote in an excerpt extracted by The Times. I saw that a kid, Cesc Fàbregas, only 17, started in Vieira’s place.
“Fàbregas played a blinder but I didn’t think too much about the significance. I sat at home on Sunday night waiting for the call to arrange details of the next day. Arsenal! I couldn’t wait.
“But I waited, and waited, and that call never came. The next day, I had to go into training at West Ham instead and, on the way, David phoned to say he’d had a call from Dein.
“David relayed the gist of his message, like, “I’m sorry, the manager says we don’t need Michael. Fàbregas is coming through like he is. Sorry, the deal’s off.” Fàbregas’s performance changed Wenger’s mind about needing me.”
Below are some of the reactions from Arsenal fans:
Basically, yes.
Not sure he would have changed fortunes that significantly, though.
Growing every day…
Carrick would have probably left too…
Of course, you know how the story ends. Carrick went on to win five Premier League titles and the Champions League with United while Fabregas had to leave the Emirates to win major trophies, although he did lift the FA Cup with the Gunners in 2005.