In Arsenal star Tony Adams' recently released autobiography SOBER: Football. My Story. My Life, he reveals a little-known story - Manchester United made two attempts to sign him, but both were firmly rejected by him. Adams recalls the two offers in detail in the book, showing his deep emotion and loyalty to Arsenal.
Adams describes the first United offer as occurring after Arsenal's 1991 title win, when he met United captain Bryan Robson at a party for the England team. Robson spoke to him privately about a possible move to United, an attempt perhaps authorized by Sir Alex Ferguson. However, Adams rejected the offer without hesitation, stating that he was thoroughly Arsenal and would not leave his beloved team.
The second United offer came in the fall of 1996, when Adams had just been five weeks sober and was at a turning point in his career. At the time, Arsenal were going through a managerial change, with Arsene Wenger replacing the sacked Rioch as the new manager. During this period of uncertainty, United once again extended an olive branch to Adams. Adams speculated that the reason why Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign him was to strengthen United's squad on the one hand, and to weaken Arsenal's competitiveness on the other. However, whatever the reason, Adams once again firmly rejected United's offer and chose to continue playing for Arsenal until the end of his career.
