Club legend Patrick Vieira has revealed that he turned down the chance to play for Ajax in order to sign for Arsenal.
The Frenchman went on to become one of the most influential players in the history of the club before leaving to join Juventus in Italy.
He admits that he was interested in joining Ajax but opted for North London after a call from manager Arsene Wenger.
"At that time Ajax were one of the best teams around and I was quite interested, but we were talking for four days and the deal didn't happen," Vieira told Arsenal's official website.
"Arsene called me telling me he'd be in charge of Arsenal if I wanted to go. I didn't know anything about England or anything about Arsenal, but I knew a lot about Arsene and his reputation, so I went straight away.
"I didn't know where I was going, I just knew it was in England. I knew it was in London but I didn't know a lot about Arsenal. Seeing the big-name players around, it was completely different. The language was difficult, the culture was completely different, the game I knew was completely different.
"I had to prove everything because I was coming from Milan and nobody knew me. I was a young talent who hadn't done anything, so I had it all to prove and all to do."
