Shaun Wright-Phillips was set to follow in his father’s footsteps to join Arsenal – only for Chelsea to sneak in and sign him.
The 43-year-old was regarded as one of the promising wingers in the Premier League during his first spell at Manchester City.
Coming up through City‘s academy, Wright-Phillips had scored 31 goals in 181 games heading into the 2005 summer transfer window.
Already an England international at the time, the speedy forward had just enjoyed his best season in the top-flight having banged in ten goals.
His dazzling displays led to the Gunners to make a move for the player in what would have been an emotional transfer.
At the time, his dad Ian was Arsenal’s all-time scorer with 185 goals, with Wright-Phillips unsurprisingly a fan of the north London giants growing up.
But despite interest from Arsenal, the player ended up at Chelsea – all because Arsene Wenger wanted to delay the transfer by six months.
It led to the Blues swooping in for the then-23-year-old, where they would secure his services in a £21million deal.
City were in the midst of a financial crisis at the time, and needed to sell the player that summer to avoid potentially going into administration.
Appearing on The Sports Bar, Wright-Phillips was asked about the transfer saga by co-host Jason Cundy, who wanted to know if he rejected Arsenal to join his beloved Chelsea.
To which he said: “No, there wasn’t a choosing situation. This is kind of what people don’t get.
“Arsenal were the first people on the table. They had priority.
“They got Man City thinking – in Man City’s situation – in many ways, to sell me. That got accepted.
“But from what I was told, Arsene Wenger said I had to wait till January [to join].
“City needed the money now, Chelsea came up and paid it.
“And that was basically as simple as it was.”
With Arsenal still in the market for a new winger, they eventually turned to Southampton starlet Theo Walcott.
And as what Wenger had planned, the signing happened during the January 2006 winter transfer window.
If Wright-Phillips had joined Arsenal in 2005, he would have been part of the squad that reached the Champions League final.
But as it turned out, he would go on to become a Premier League champion – featuring in 27 league outings for the Blues.
The following season, he would scoop FA Cup glory and League Cup success, with Chelsea beating Arsenal 2-1 in the final.
That game saw Walcott open his account for Arsenal – the first of his 108 goals in the club’s colours.
Wright-Phillips however was nowhere near as prolific for Chelsea, scoring just ten times from 125 appearances.
He eventually returned to City in 2008 in a £10m deal, where he would win another FA Cup in 2011, before moving on to QPR and then New York Red Bulls and Phoenix Rising in America.
