Ferguson was one day from signing for Arsenal before choosing Manchester United in 1986

Sir Alex Ferguson came within a single day of becoming Arsenal manager in 1986, according to former Gunners striker Charlie Nicholas, who spoke directly with Ferguson during that summer’s World Cup.

Nicholas, who was part of the Scotland squad at the tournament, recalls Ferguson pulling him aside for a private conversation to ask about life at Arsenal — a sign, it turned out, that Ferguson had already received a formal contract offer from the club.

“Fergie got offered the Arsenal job and on the same day Graeme [Souness] got offered Rangers and took Walter [Smith] to be his assistant,” Nicholas said. “Fergie said to me: ‘I want to take you for a glass of wine. I need to speak to you about something.’ We had a stroll outside the camp and he said: ‘Tell me about Arsenal.’”

Nicholas told Ferguson the club had the foundations for success but lacked a decisive figure to pull it together. “I said: ‘Great club, it just needs shaking up. We’ve never managed to get some top players to gel. The ingredients are all there, but we are missing a heartbeat.’” Ferguson’s response left Nicholas briefly convinced a historic appointment was imminent: “He says they’ve made the contract. I was like: ‘Oh, that would be fantastic. That would be magnificent.’”

Ferguson indicated he was impressed by Arsenal’s approach and, crucially, by the assurance that he would be given full control of the dressing room. “I said they would let you go on with your job, Alex. They would let you control the dressing room, and that’s where we needed control,” Nicholas recalled.

But the following day, Ferguson sought Nicholas out again with a different message entirely. “He said: ‘I have to tell you, because I know your passion for Arsenal is there — I’ve just accepted the Manchester United job.’ Absolutely gutted,” Nicholas said. “I thought, you know what, I can understand where you’re coming from with the Man United thing. I thought we were in a position to get success quicker. But he’d given his word.”

Ferguson went on to win 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, and five FA Cups at Old Trafford across a 26-year reign. Arsenal, meanwhile, appointed George Graham, who delivered two league titles of his own before his departure in 1995. The revelation underlines just how differently English football history might have unfolded had Ferguson’s answer been different that evening in Mexico.