I agreed to join Arsenal midway through having a medical at Man City – I couldn't say no

Certain parts of the transfer cycle are considered sacred, but one former Arsenal star walked out on his Manchester City medical after a phone call from Arsene Wenger

Former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre has revealed how he deserted Manchester City midway through his medical to join the Gunners. And it was thanks to an 11th-hour call from Arsene Wenger that the Frenchman was convinced to abandon the transfer.

Silvestre, 48, etched his name in the Premier League history books after nine successful seasons with Manchester United. It was during his time at Old Trafford that he won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and one Champions League crown.

The Frenchman almost made the ultimate betrayal by negotiating a move to rivals City in the summer of 2008. However, he called off the deal at a key phase following Wenger's intervention.

"I almost signed for Manchester City in 2008, believe it or not," he told Poker Scout. "I was halfway through my medical in Manchester and was very close to finalising a move to the club.

"However, Arsene Wenger reached out to me through a friend to try and get me to sign for Arsenal during the medical. I couldn’t turn that offer down, and I signed for the club the very next day!

"It was a crazy situation. Nowadays when a club does a medical, they do it all in one day and don’t let the players leave the room to make sure the deal goes through!"

United fans could hardly blame Silvestre for wanting a move elsewhere at the time of his United departure. The full-back, who made 361 appearances for the Red Devils, had fallen behind Patrice Evra in the pecking order and was struggling for game time following a serious knee injury in 2007.

That being said, a move across town to City would have been taken as a slap in the face by many a United fans all the same. And joining Arsenal wasn't considered that much better at the time given he was the first senior player to move directly between the two outfits in some 21 years.

Wenger and United icon Sir Alex Ferguson only exacerbated tensions between the two clubs with their own personal rivalry. And given both managers reigned at their respective clubs for almost 50 years combined, deals between the two were rare during that period.

As it turned out, Silvestre may have been better off signing for City after all. He made 43 appearances for Arsenal across two seasons in what ended up being a fairly fruitless expedition.

The Gunners managed Premier League finishes of fourth and third during his two campaigns in north London. Arguably Silvestre's most notable moment came in the Champions League semi-finals during his first term with the club, where he came up against none other than United.

Wenger's men were decimated 4-1 across two legs, almost as if to underline what he was missing out on by leaving Old Trafford. Silvestre faced United three times in his career (twice with Arsenal, once with Inter Milan) but only beat them once, a 2-1 Premier League win at the Emirates in November 2008.

The former France regular was once more linked with a move to City when he left Arsenal in 2010 but ended up joining Werder Bremen on a free transfer instead. Ironically, Silvestre later suggested Wenger needed to be "more ruthless" in his work, a sentiment fans might share when it comes to his own signing.