Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has revealed that he nearly joined London rivals Chelsea from the Gunners due to his strained relationship with then-manager Bruce Rioch.
The Englishman scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for Arsenal between 1991 and 1998 and was the club's top goalscorer before being surpassed by Thierry Henry in 2005.
However, Wright has admitted that his playing career could have panned out much differently as a result of his poor relationship with Rioch in the mid-1990s.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Wright said: "Yes [I could have joined Chelsea], under Glenn Hoddle. It was that year that I had with Bruce Rioch that was a real tough one.
"I handed in a transfer request by the time it got to a serious point because I genuinely thought I was leaving. Arsenal don't sack managers and obviously George Graham went.
"After Bruce Rioch came in, after the first year, we literally argued every day and I thought I should just leave, as there was no way Arsenal were going to get rid of him and something was going to happen between us, so I put that transfer request in, they refused it, it all went up in the air and in the end I was in touch with Chelsea.
"It would have been a big mistake for me to leave at that stage with everything that happened with me at Arsenal. I ended up winning the league, got the top goal-scorer in Arsenal's history before, obviously, Thierry [Henry] broke it.
"It wouldn't have been a good way to leave. I know, down the years, many people have left football clubs because they haven't been able to get on with the manager, but I have just got to give thanks to the likes of David Dein, and the Arsenal board, at the time, who realised that, for me, [appointing Rioch] was a mistake.
"It wasn't working out. I was very vocal in that and a lot of the other players were vocal when it suited them. I didn't mind letting him know what I felt and in the end he went."
Wright won two FA Cups and one Premier League title during his seven years at Highbury.
Ben Knapton
