Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha was rejected by Arsenal when he was coming through at Crystal Palace.
Former Palace chairman Ron Noades revealed to Express Online the forward could have been playing for Arsenal if he had his way.
He said: "When Steve Parish sold Zaha I was mildly involved in it as I tried to get Arsenal to buy him, but they were not interested.
"I spoke to David Dein as I did not want Zaha to go to Manchester United, I wanted him to stay in London.
"I just thought he was an exciting talent."