Former Manchester United goalkeeper Jim Leighton has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson turned down the chance to take charge of Arsenal.

Leighton, the former Scotland goalkeeper, was talking to Mark Chapman on his BBC Radio Five programme The World Cup Years: 1986 when he said the Highbury board approached Ferguson as a replacement for Don Howe as the Scot prepared his side for their World Cup finals campaign in Mexico.

"Ferguson was offered the Arsenal job," said Leighton. "George Graham would have been his assistant, but he wanted to wait until the World Cup was finished before it was getting announced.

"Arsenal said they wanted it [a decision] straight away and so he refused it and George Graham got the job."

"He wanted to announce it when he got back to Aberdeen, to do it the right way."

Studio guest Kenny Sansom, the former England and Arsenal full-back, said he "didn't have a clue" about the approach.

"I didn't know about that, and I played under George [Graham] too. But I 'm sure George wouldn't have said they offered the job to Alex first".

Gerry Armstrong, the former Northern Ireland and Tottenham Hotspur forward, added: "I knew he was lined up at Tottenham, maybe a year before that".