Arsenal and Manchester United have always been huge rivals in the Premier League.
The two clubs are competing for different things now, but back in the day, they were always fighting for the biggest trophies in the country.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger shared many great battles at the time, but financial restraints following the construction of the Emirates Stadium created a big gap between the two teams.
Arsenal had to sell their best players as a result, and Manchester United landed Robin van Persie in the summer of 2012.
A year before that, Ferguson apparently tried to sign another player from the Gunners.
Samir Nasri was a star for Arsenal during his time at the club.
The Frenchman was signed from Marseille by Wenger in 2008, and he went on to play 125 games in all competitions for the Gunners.
Nasri sealed a controversial move to Manchester City in the summer of 2011, but he has revealed now that he was more excited in joining Manchester United after holding ‘secret’ talks with Ferguson.
The legendary Red Devils boss apparently wanted the then-Arsenal number eight to replace Paul Scholes at Old Trafford.
Nasri, however, chose Manchester City in the end.
Narrating the story, Nasri said while speaking to ZACK on YouTube in April 2023, as translated from French: “Around March or April, I met Alex Ferguson in Paris. It was very secret. We couldn’t be seen, so we met in an apartment and discussed.
“At first, I was more excited about Manchester United than City, because for me, the club with history is United. After that season at Arsenal, I had performed well.
“Ferguson told me: ‘You’ll replace Paul Scholes. You’ll be his successor.’ That’s huge! Scholes was a phenomenon. Other clubs were interested too: Juventus, Inter, Chelsea… I was keen, but I said I’d stay in London. Then PSG… okay, PSG, I got them because Leonardo, who was at Inter, moved to PSG and told me: ‘I want you.’ But I said: ‘It’s not possible, I’m from Marseille.’
Nasri then had to decide between United and City, and the lure of helping the latter win their first Premier League title in over half a century made up his mind.
“I called Ferguson, told him: ‘I’ve chosen Manchester City.’ He said, “Good luck,” and hung up,” Nasri revealed.
Wenger was a big fan of Nasri at Arsenal.
The legendary French manager hailed his compatriot as ‘intelligent’ and ‘efficient’ back in the day, and he was very keen to keep hold of him.
However, during contract talks before Nasri entered the final year of his deal, the versatile midfielder claimed that he asked for a €40 million (£34.6m) release clause inserted into his deal.
Arsenal refused to do that, and Nasri claimed that he rejected their contract offer because of that reason.
In August 2021, after he turned down Manchester United, City signed Nasri from Arsenal for a fee in the region of £25 million.
