Shaun Wright-Phillips has revealed he nearly signed for Arsenal and followed in the footsteps of his famous father Ian Wright.
The former England winger made his big breakthrough at Manchester City and was one of the Premier League’s hottest properties by the time the London rivals were bidding for his services.
A move to Highbury, a stadium so synonymous with his dad, appeared inevitable only for Arsene Wenger’s dithering to put a spanner in the works.
‘There was an opportunity to join Arsenal,’ Wright-Phillips told sportscasting.com. ‘Arsenal were the first movers in terms of when I first left City.
‘The only reason it didn’t happen is because Arsene Wenger wanted to wait until January, and I think City needed it to happen right away, because it wasn’t something that me or my agent at that time forced.
‘It was something that the club had to make happen in terms of they would have gone into administration if they didn’t sell me.
‘So, if Arsene Wenger had just said ‘Okay, we will take him now,’ I most probably would have played for Arsene rather than Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
‘My dad (Arsenal legend Ian Wright) was always excited, but he just wanted it done.
‘He’s just always brought me up in football with the mindset that you always strike while the iron’s hot because you could go on a pitch the next week and break your ankle.
‘When we were going to Chelsea, when we were walking down to Stamford Bridge, he was mad excited.
‘And he was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Somebody stole your wallet or something?’ I replied: ‘I’m just a lot more chilled than you are.’ Arsenal was a sliding doors moment for me.’
As a devastating winger in his day, Wright-Phillips is well placed to judge the merits of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka who is enjoy a stellar campaign.
Wright-Phillips rates the Hale End Academy graduate highly and believes he is already one of the best five players to play in the Premier League in his position.
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He said:’ I would say in terms of wingers, he’s probably in the top five wingers that’s ever played in the Premier League in terms of what they’re putting out there on the pitch, game after game after game.
‘He’s probably one of the least rested Arsenal players, and people always want to see players do well consistently, that’s what he does season after season. That’s what everybody wants to see.
‘He can play badly, but he can still score you a goal or create you a chance. Whereas some wingers can play badly and won’t affect the game. So, we can say, ‘Saka had a quiet game. Oh yeah, it wasn’t his greatest game, but he still got an assist and scored a goal.’
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