There is perhaps no greater Arsenal hero during the early Premier League era than Tony Adams – a one-club man who captained the Gunners for 14 of his 19 seasons in north London, winning four top flight titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and 66 caps for England.
Indeed, the domineering defender is regarded as a club legend, the backbone of their 1990s-2000s success, the epitome of the old ‘one-nil to the Arsenal’ style.
But it could’ve all been so different if the now 48 year-old had decided to join West Ham’s illustrious academy, rather than Arsenal’s, back in the 1980s.
Adams has since revealed it was a very close call – but he was desperate to work with youth coach Terry Burton.
“He was pretty much the only reason I went to Arsenal and didn’t join Stevie [Potts] over at the Hammers. That’s how things go and your past can go different ways, as it can for clubs as well,” as reported by The Express in 2014.