'I was all set to join Arsenal before brutal U-turn – Tottenham picked me up instead'

As Arsenalunveiled the return of Eberechi Eze to 60,000 excited fans on Saturday, many may have wondered what would have happened if he had decided to join their north London rivals instead. Few will remember that this already happened in the past, as a young Michael Carrick was all set to join the Gunners from West Ham United – only to head to White Hart Lane instead.

Tottenham Hotspur had been set to capture Eze's services after they reached an agreement with Crystal Palace. But Mikel Arteta swooped in and hijacked the transfer of the former Arsenal youth.

The England international agreed a four-year deal worth up to £67.5million, and will wear the number 10 for the club. But over 20 years ago, Arsenal could have signed a Premier League icon in Carrick – however, they allowed the midfielder to head to their rivals instead, as they opted to prioritise ensuring a young Cesc Fabregas had a path to the first team.

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Writing in his autobiography, Michael Carrick: Between the Lines, the former Champions League winner revealed how the teen Fabregas ultimately derailed his move to the north London side, as Arsene Wenger U-turned on the transfer.

Carrick said: "I saw that a kid, Cesc Fabregas, only 17, started in (Patrick) Vieira's place. Fabregas played a blinder, but I didn't think too much about the significance.

"I sat at home on Sunday night waiting for the call to arrange details of the next day. Arsenal! I couldn't wait. But I waited, and waited, and that call never came. The next day, I had to go into training at West Ham instead and, on the way, David (Carrick's agent) phoned to say he'd had a call from Dein."

Carrick went on to admit that the then-17-year-old had beaten him to a place in the impressive squad, as he said: "David relayed the gist of his message, like, 'I'm sorry, the manager says we don't need Michael. Fabregas is coming through like he is. Sorry, the deal's off.'

"Fabregas' performance changed Wenger's mind about needing me."

Fabregas went on to make 300 appearances for the Gunners after nudging Carrick out of Arsene Wenger's plans – and he made a move soon afterwards. Spurs' sporting director at the time, Frank Arnesen, gave Carrick's agent a call to convince him to join the Lilywhites instead.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, the former Premier League star detailed a chaotic period of time in his career joining Spurs, claiming that the club's boss at the time, Jacques Santini, didn't know who he was.

Carrick said: "He (Santini) didn't seem to know who I was - it was a very strange moment. I arrived at Spurs' training ground and said to my adviser Dave, 'I'm not too sure he knows who I am'. He said, 'I think you're right.'

"I'd signed that morning, so it was all agreed with the club and I went to his office to meet him. It was weird. I ended up with the reserve team on my first day of training, and later found out that I'd been signed more by Frank Arnesen, who was Spurs' sporting director."

However, it wasn't at White Hart Lane that Carrick etched his name into Premier League history, but rather at Old Trafford under the famous Sir Alex Ferguson. The midfielder headed to Manchester United in 2006 and the rest is history; making 464 appearances in red before retiring at the club in 2018.

Carrick won a whopping five Premier League titles with United, as well as an FA Cup, three EFL Cups, the Champions League, Europa League and the Club World Cup.

However, his career could have taken a totally different turn had Fabregas not stopped his move to Arsenal in the mid-2000s – much like Eze's potential career at Spurs if Arteta hadn't hijacked the deal at the last moment.

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