Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has revealed he is keen to bring Alex Ferguson to the club ahead of his move to Manchester United.
Ferguson was Aberdeen manager when Don Howe resigned as Arsenal boss in 1986 and the story could have been very different.
Dein was leaning towards a move for Ferguson, but another board member pushed for the appointment of former player George Graham.
Dein said his dream ticket was legendary Man United boss as Gunners manager with Graham as No. 2, but the latter seemed to tick the relevant boxes for the top job.
“I had this idea to have Alex Ferguson succeed Don Howe, while another board member suggested George Graham,” Dein wrote in the Daily Mail.
“George ticked a lot of boxes. He looked good and, as a former player in the 1971 double team, he knew Arsenal’s values.
“It had a lot of influence on the board. Some particularly big names were brought up, including Terry Venables and Johan Cruyff, but in the end it was really between Alex and George.
“The board thought George could do the job. He was young, aspiring and hungry. He was elegant and always well dressed. He started lower to learn the tricks of management.
Dein continued: “He knew a lot of lower division players, which was an asset in England, to try to shape something with smart recruitment.
“But while George had the Arsenal connection, he had yet to cut his teeth in the big time. He was at Millwall in the lower divisions and it was his first managerial job. I thought it might be a risk. Alex, on the other hand, had more experience and more success.
“His Aberdeen side were a revelation and won impressively, including in Europe. So I floated the idea of a double act – that we bring Alex in as #1 with George to be his #2.
“The combination could be a dream ticket, with the two Scots combining a lot of quality with the potential to be even more ambitious in the Premier League in England. I knew Alex and knew the president of Aberdeen, Dick Donald. I probed him gently to see if Alex would be interested.
By the time a decision had to be made, Ferguson had already won three Scottish league titles and led Aberdeen to the Cup Winners’ Cup three years earlier.
Dein was confident in Ferguson’s ability to continue his success in north London, but ultimately succumbed to the idea that Graham was the right fit for the Gunners.
“In the end, I accepted the decision to appoint George. He wanted more money, which we ended up offering. I remember him saying, ‘That’s not what I was looking for, but if I succeed, I will not be cheap!
“True to his word, he would come into the office the day after winning a trophy to remind us.”