At a Glance:
- Gary Neville claims one Arsenal player would’ve joined Man United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
- Neville is convinced.
- Why Arsenal star would reject Manchester United.
Gone are the days when Manchester United are England’s biggest superpower, with Arsenal emerging as top dogs after being crowned Premier League champions.
The Gunners have a plethora of some of the best players in the league, with Declan Rice even been made England’s vice-captain and the impregnable David Raya arguably being the standout goalkeeper in the world.
In 2012, Manchester United famously signed Robin van Persie from the Emirates Stadium, a move that signaled the sizable gap between both clubs.
While things have changed, Gary Neville believes that if Sir Alex Ferguson was still United boss, he would have signed one player before he even joined Mikel Arteta’s side.
Gary Neville says Declan Rice would have joined Man United under Sir Alex Ferguson
The name in question is Rice, with Manchester United have a top-class core of British players during Ferguson’s time in charge, from Neville to Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney among others.
Rice has been a revelation at Arsenal, who now have several brilliant English players at their disposal including Bukayo Saka, Ben White and Eberechi Eze to name a few.
However, there are legs in Gary Neville’s theory as Manchester United had a tendency to poach players from across the league during Sir Ferguson’s reign, such as Rio Ferdinand from West Ham or Wayne Rooney from Everton.
Neville told Rio Ferdinand Presents: “He’d have literally made sure he [Harry Kane] came to Old Trafford and Declan Rice would have been the same. I don’t think Declan Rice would have gone anywhere other than Old Trafford from West Ham. He’d have been all over those two.”
Declan Rice would have rejected Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United
However, the 27-year-old revealed that he was excited about Arsenal’s project under Mikel Arteta, which prompted hm to join the English giants over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in 2023.
Rice told The Athletic in 2024: “I know [I could’ve played with Rodri at Manchester City]. But this project seemed more exciting and that’s why I chose to come to Arsenal, because I believe we’re on to big things here.”
At the time, City had also dominated English football like Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, winning three league titles on the trot and coming off the back of a treble-winning season.
Rice could have also developed under a similarly legendary manager like Pep Guardiola but it seems like Arsenal won his heart and the same may have been the case if United had come calling under Ferguson.
