Arsenal have had their fair share of transfer battles over the years, often tussling with their rivals for some key players.
In some of those, the Gunners have missed out, in others, they have managed to come out on top with their number one target.
The mastermind behind most of them was Arsene Wenger, who knew exactly what it took to bring a player to the Emirates Stadium.
On one such occasion, the Arsenal boss managed to embarrass Manchester United and earned the bragging rights and a top player for his efforts.
Man United announced Aaron Ramsey deal before Arsenal made transfer swoop
Rewind back to 2008, and plenty of teams in the Premier League were battling it out to sign a young wonderkid by the name of Aaron Ramsey.
Lighting it up in the Championship with Cardiff, clubs had spotted the potential of the young midfielder in just 22 appearances with the Bluebirds.
Manchester United appeared to be on top, even releasing a club statement on their old website on an agreement for the star.
It read: “United have agreed a fee with Cardiff City to bring talented teenager Aaron Ramsey to Old Trafford.
“The 17-year-old left-sided midfielder has yet to agree personal terms and must also pass a medical before any deal can be completed.
“A club spokesperson told ManUtd.com: ‘Manchester United is delighted to announce it has agreed terms with Cardiff City for the transfer of Aaron Ramsey, subject to contract terms being agreed and the player passing a medical.'”
In the end, though, it was Arsenal and Arsene Wenger who won the race to sign Ramsey from Cardiff instead.
The midfielder went on to make over 300 appearances for the Gunners, becoming a Wales international and winning several trophies.
The £5 million that ended up being paid turned out to be an absolute bargain, embarrassing Man United in the process.
Aaron Ramsey had to pick between Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson
While Ramsey ultimately joined Arsenal, things could’ve been very different if he had joined Manchester United.
Former Cardiff manager Dave Jones revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to send the midfielder back to the Welsh capital on loan, which was a different plan from the Gunners.
He told the BBC: “We lost him to Arsenal, I don’t think he completed 20 games for us before Arsenal and Manchester United kept calling for him.
“As a personal preference, I wanted him to go to Manchester United because Sir Alex was going to let me have him back [on loan]. But I knew if he went to Arsenal, Arsene Wenger would play him.”
It’s a plan that worked for Arsenal and saw them hold the edge over their rivals Manchester United.
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