Emmanuel Petit has revealed he rejected the chance to rejoin Arsenal in 2002 after speaking with Arsene Wenger about a dramatic return.
The Frenchman spent three years at Arsenal and won the double with the Gunners in 1998.
The 46-year-old left Highbury for the Nou Camp in 2000 but was desperate to leave Barcelona after two disappointing years in Spain.
Wenger was a huge admirer of the midfielder and spoke with Petit about a return to north London but the Frenchman’s revealed he rejected the Gunners and Manchester United to join Chelsea.
“Sir Alex Ferguson called me twice, Arsene called me as well,” Petit told SFR.
“Claudio Ranieri actually came to see me and ate with me at my house. I was charmed by him, what he had to say, and that’s why I wanted to sign for Chelsea.
“Remember, at the time, there was Giggs, Scholes, Roy Keane, Teddy Sheringham, Beckham.
“They had an incredible team. Stam at centre-back. Schmeichel in goal.”
Former Gunner Petit also believes Arsenal still need a world-class striker like Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero to be genuine title contenders.
The former Premier League title winner, who played alongside Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, and Thierry Henry during his time at Arsenal, feels the Gunners require a more prolific goalscorer to be able to become English champions.
“Even though I love Arsenal and Arsene, I try to stay objective,” Petit told SFR Sport. “They never quite satisfy me, and they often frustrate me.
“As long as Arsenal don’t have a striker who scores 40 goals a season like Aguero does at Manchester City … That’s what you need in any league: a striker who is one of the best in the world.”
Theo Walcott took his individual tally to five Premier League goals this season with the double strike that gave Arsenal a 3-2 win over Swansea City at the weekend and left them second to Manchester City only on goal difference.
Had Walcott taken more of the opportunities presented to him against Swansea, however, Arsenal may even have leapfrogged City.
The England international has only once hit more than 20 goals in a single season, finding the net 21 times in all competitions in 2012-13. Olivier Giroud managed a personal best of only 24 competitive goals last term while Alexis Sanchez is yet to better his haul of 25 in his first season in England in 2014-15.