I helped end Chelsea’s 26-year wait for a major trophy – but I was a week away from joining Arsenal
Scott Minto's gamble on rejecting Arsenal paid off after he helped end Chelsea's 26-year trophy drought.
The former defender started in Chelsea's 1997 FA Cup final victory over Middlesbrough, but things could have panned out differently.
Following six years at Charlton, Minto decided to depart in 1994, with London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea both keen to snap him up.
And it was at Highbury where Minto thought he would be making his move with manager George Graham offering him a contract.
But the left-back refused to rush into a decision - issuing Chelsea a week to come up with their own offer before he accepted the Gunners' proposal.
In the end, Minto came out of his meeting with legendary boss Graham to sign for the Blues that same night.
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Speaking to talkSPORT.com about how close he came to joining Arsenal, he said: "I actually thought in the second half of my last season at Charlton that I would be signing for Arsenal.
"Theo Foley [ex-Arsenal assistant] had told me that they had been watching me and they wanted to make a bid.
"Back then, the transfer window - the final one - was the third Thursday in March, they said they're not going to buy me now, but they will at the end of the season.
"They wanted to wait, I was letting my contract run out, and they said it would be cheaper that way. So I ended up meeting George at Highbury.
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"It was just me, a 22-year-old kid, a young, single guy who liked to have a few nights out, and didn't look at guys as charming.
"But I came away from that meeting thinking that's the word, [Graham] was a very charming guy, but the reason I didn't sign for Arsenal, was because he said to me - and it wasn't about the money.
"He said to me I can have a three or four-year contract, but it won't go up. And I said, 'Well what about even with inflation?'
"He said, 'No. If you're rubbish, we're not going to take money off you, so if you're good, we're not going to give you extra money.'
"So I was like, 'OK. It's still Arsenal,' but he said I may have to wait 18 months for Nigel Winterburn - I would have had to wait ten years for Nigel, he went on for ages, he's a brilliant guy!
"And I'd seen Colin Pates go from Chelsea to Charlton, he was our captain at Charlton, to Arsenal, but be stuck in the reserves and not really be seen.
"And I'd been in the first team since I was 17, and reserves for me was, it doesn't matter where you are, reserves is reserves, it's not first team football.
"So he [Graham] said, 'Nigel had to wait 18 months for Kenny [Sansom],' and I might have to wait 18 months for Nigel. And I just thought well it's about the here and now.
"So I kind of told a porky, I said to him, 'I haven't got an agent', which was true, I said, 'I'm here on my own, my dad's away on business for a week', which he wasn't, 'Do you mind if I wait until he comes back and have a chat to him?'
"Now in that time, or before then, Keith Peacock, who was Gavin Peacock's [then-Chelsea player] dad, Keith was working at Charlton [as U21 boss], said, 'I want you to be at Chelsea, I think Chelsea are interested. Give me a few days.'
"I rang him up on the payphones after I came out of that meeting at Highbury, and said, 'Keith, they've offered me a contract, you've got a week, and if Chelsea don't come in, I'm signing for Arsenal.'
"Literally that night, I met with Chelsea, they offered me a better contract, but it wasn't about the money, it was more about the football, and I signed then.
"I actually rang up [Arsenal] the next day to try and speak to George, and I was told, 'He won't want to speak to you,' I said, 'Well can you at least tell him I tried.'"
Minto stayed at Stamford Bridge for three years, with his last outing proving to be the 2-0 win over Boro in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
He subsequently joined Benfica on a free transfer, where he became the first Englishman to play for the Portuguese outfit.
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But he'll be hoping his former club can get one step closer to another triumph when they take on Manchester City in the semi-final.
Chelsea vs Man City is live on talkSPORT on Saturday 20 April from 17:15