Ian Wright reveals he came close to joining Arsenal's London rivals in 1996
Ian Wright has revealed that he came close to joining one of Arsenal's London rivals in 1996.
Wright is renowned as an Arsenal legend having scored 185 goals for the club, with only Thierry Henry having found the net for the Gunners on more occasions.
However, Wright could have left the Gunners when Bruce Rioch was in charge.
Wright revealed that he could have made the switch to Stamford Bridge to join Chelsea.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Wright said: 'When Bruce Rioch came I was really close to going to Chelsea because I thought that I'd probably have to leave because Arsenal probably wouldn't get rid of a manager they've just got.
'It was a really tough time for me. Obviously it's the best decision I ever made not going, but Arsene Wenger came, things started to change, Dennis Bergkamp came, Patrick Vieira came. It started to happen.'
Wright elected to remain at Arsenal following the appointment of Arsene Wenger and was part of the Gunners side that won the double in the 1997-98 campaign, with the striker finally fulfilling his aim of winning the league title.
During his time at Arsenal Wright also won the European Cup Winners' Cup, the League Cup and another FA Cup.
He became Arsenal's all-time leading scorer in 1997 before his record was broken by Henry in 2005.
In 1998 Wright left Arsenal for West Ham and he later played for Celtic and Burnley. He had signed for Arsenal in 1991 having commenced his professional career at Crystal Palace.
Wright made 33 appearances for England between 1991 and 1998, scoring nine goals.
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