i just won the champions league with manchester united i was flying high my name was in every paper every pundit was singing my praises clubs were calling offers were coming in my agent was overwhelmed by the attention but one offer stood out one phone call changed everything it wasn’t just another transfer it was a decision that would shape the rest of my life manchester city wanted me they were serious they were ready to give me everything but then arsenal called and everything changed
you have to understand how big manchester city had become they were winning trophies breaking records playing beautiful football they were the dream club for any player they had pep guardiola they had stars in every position they had money they had power when they call you answer that’s the rule in football when city want you you don’t say no but for some reason my heart wasn’t fully in it
i respected city a lot i admired what they were doing but something inside me said wait take a breath think about this and then i got a message from someone at arsenal they were watching they knew i was available they didn’t come in with the biggest money they didn’t promise the flashiest things but what they said was simple and powerful we want you to be part of something we are building not just a player but a leader a symbol
i didn’t grow up as an arsenal fan i had no posters of thierry henry or patrick vieira on my wall but when i watched arsenal under mikel arteta something stirred in me they weren’t just playing good football they were fighting they were hungry they were like a fire that had been sleeping for years and was finally starting to burn again i wanted to be part of that flame
my agent thought i was crazy he said city were the safer choice more trophies better chance of winning the league more guaranteed minutes but football is not about safety it’s about passion and i felt something deeper pulling me towards north london when i spoke to arteta it was different he didn’t talk to me like a manager selling a dream he spoke like a captain on a mission he told me exactly where he wanted me how i would fit in and what he expected
i remember him saying you just won the champions league with manchester united now come and help us win it here not just once but make history build something that will last longer than just medals and i believed him his eyes were full of belief and that belief became mine too
the night before i made my decision i couldn’t sleep i was thinking of city’s squad their stadium their dominance but then i remembered that feeling of lifting the champions league trophy with united the pride the emotion the roar of the fans i wanted that again but i wanted it somewhere new somewhere where it would mean more where it wouldn’t just be expected but truly celebrated
so i turned down manchester city people couldn’t believe it the headlines were brutal former champions league hero rejects city shock move to arsenal my old teammates at united were calling me asking what are you doing some even laughed others understood they said if your heart says arsenal then go
the first day i walked into london colney i felt it the spirit the brotherhood the ambition it was different from anything i’d felt before this wasn’t a club chasing success this was a club chasing a dream the players were young but fearless saka martinelli odegaard these guys weren’t just playing for themselves they were playing for something bigger
the fans welcomed me like family i expected boos from some old united fans maybe some hate but what i got instead was love arsenal fans sang my name before i even kicked a ball for them they believed in me before i’d done anything for them and that belief gave me strength
the media kept asking do you regret not going to city they said things like city are winning everything arsenal haven’t won the league since 2004 but what they didn’t see was what we were building behind the scenes we were becoming a team that didn’t just play well but believed we could beat anyone and we did beat them we took the fight to city we challenged them and we made them sweat
sometimes i think about what would’ve happened if i’d gone to city maybe i’d have more medals maybe i’d be part of another treble-winning team but would i be happy would i feel alive the way i do at arsenal i don’t think so because here i’m not just another player i’m part of something real something emotional something that reminds me why i fell in love with football in the first place
i didn’t join arsenal because they offered me more money they didn’t i didn’t come because it was easy it wasn’t i came because this club is special because this club dared to dream when others laughed because this club gave me a chance to lead not just follow
and now every time i walk out onto the pitch in the emirates and i hear the crowd singing the arsenal chants i smile i remember the moment i said no to city and yes to the red side of london and i know i made the right choice this is home this is where i’m meant to be and i wouldn’t change a thing
sometimes in football the biggest wins are not the trophies or the goals sometimes the biggest win is making the choice that feels right in your heart even when the world tells you to choose differently i turned down manchester city after winning the champions league with manchester united and i chose arsenal and if you ask me today tomorrow or ten years from now i’ll tell you the same thing i chose right
