PATRICK VIEIRA admits his “biggest regret” was resisting the lure of Real Madrid to stay at Arsenal two years before the Gunners’ greatest season.
The Invincibles skipper was tempted by Real President Florentino Perez, who made a personal approach to him in 2002.
Vieira, though, recalled: “In football you sometimes have to make a decision.
“At the time, I was too happy at Arsenal. I was too good at Arsenal. I was at home. And I didn’t want to leave.
“If I look at my career again, that can be one of my regrets, not to go to Madrid.
“I had a good conversation with the president, we talked, I remember it. I was just too happy at Arsenal to leave the club at that time but it’s one of my biggest regrets.”
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Vieira joined Arsenal from Milan in 1996 and was part of the famous 2003-04 team that won the Premier League unbeaten. He eventually moved to Juventus in 2005 for £13.75million.
ROCK STAR
ARSENAL will sign Shamrock starlet Victor Ozhianvuna in a record £1.73million sale for the League of Ireland.
Ozhianvuna, 16, will sign a pre-contract agreement and is due to join up with the Gunners in January of 2027, after his 18th birthday.
But Sunsport can reveal there is a strong link between the two clubs and that would have helped with the deal.
Rovers head coach Stephen Bradley was on Arsenal’s books as a kid and has always kept strong links with the north London club.
Now 40, he played for the under-21s between 2004 and 2005 without making a first-team appearance for Arsene Wenger.
The Dubliner has openly admitted that he lost his way and was not helped by being stabbed in the head with a screwdriver during a robbery at his London flat while he was wearing a flashy watch.
But he managed to retain good relations with Wenger and Liam Brady, head of youth development at Arsenal between 1996 and 2013.
Bradley became an Arsenal scout for years while his current agent is 44-year-old Graham Barrett who made a couple of first team appearances for the north London club.
So once a talent like midfielder Ozhianvuna emerged at Shamrock, it was obvious which club in the Premier League he would be heading to.
WORK OF ART
MIKEL ARTETA’S cards-close-to-his-chest approach on injuries appears to be rubbing off onto his players.
The Arsenal boss is notoriously vague when asked in press conferences about injuries to stars in his squad and what the timescale will be.
The case in point recently has been with Kai Havertz following his knee operation, refusing to give a date or even a month as to when he believes the German will be back.
Some of this is to do with not putting too much pressure on the medical team and being forced to backtrack if there is a setback or another issue that crops up.
That style looks to have been embraced by skipper Martin Odegaard, and it would not be surprising if Arteta himself had some influence on his captain’s notes in the programme for the 4-0 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Odegaard has endured a torrid time with injuries so far this term, forced off before half-time on two occasions already with a shoulder issue, and then again with a knee ligament issue in the 2-0 win against West Ham.
We have a rough idea that Odegaard could be back after the November internationals but writing in his programme notes, he added a lot more mystery to the timeline.
He said: “It’s tricky to set a return date with this type of injury because, especially it being my left leg, a lot depends on how it goes when I start getting back on the pitch.
“I have been working every day to keep my fitness up as well as trying to heal the injury, so it’s busy at the moment.
“Sometimes it can be quite sore when you start passing the ball and shooting and all these things with that leg, so it’s really hard to say a date.
“We will know more when I start getting back on the training pitches. If it does really well then it can be quick.”
How quick? Who knows, and that’s just how Arteta likes it.
HE’S A KEEPER
DAVID SEAMAN is a huge legend at Arsenal and it is nice to see him back at the club even though it is an informal role.
The former keeper was in the stands at Boreham Wood on Tuesday, wearing an official club coat, to see the under-19s lose 4-3 to Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Youth League.
Seaman sat near academy manager Per Mertesacker but on the other side of the stadium from the dugout so was not directly involved in coaching.
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Seaman, now 62, played 75 times for England and we have not had one as good ever since.
So the fact he is a mentor available to speak to Arsenal’s young keepers is a real bonus for the club.
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