Why Alex's claim is infantile

Sir Alex Ferguson should have a quiet word with Thierry Henry if he wants a realistic assessment of how many Arsenal's players would prefer to be at Old Trafford.

Just the other day Henry declared - not for the first time - that he intends to remain at Highbury for the rest of his career. It's a wish shared by many in the Arsenal dressing room.

Ferguson's claim that every Arsenal player wants to sign for United is infantile. "Patrick Vieira would have loved to come here last year," he's reported as saying. "They would all like to come here."

The truth is that, in more than 30 years of writing about Arsenal, I cannot remember a time when the Highbury dressing room was happier. For this you have to give credit to Arsene Wenger.

In many cases, he has taken players from relative obscurity and turned them into world names. This process generates loyalty and although it doesn't always work - Nicolas Anelka being a prime example - it has significantly helped Wenger in his fight to break United's domination of the domestic game.

There is no evidence to suggest that anyone at Arsenal wants to play for Manchester United, just as there's none to suggest that any player at Old Trafford wants to move to Highbury.

I can't think of a big name move from Arsenal to United since Viv Anderson's transfer for £250,000 in 1987 in the early days of the Ferguson era. The United manager has coveted players like Tony Adams and Marc Overmars in the recent past but neither of those were sufficiently impressed by the lure of Old Trafford.