Patrick Vieira will stay at Arsenal after turning down the chance of a move to Real Madrid.
Vieira was reported to be posied to put pen to paper on a £23m move to The Bernabeu, but has now revealed: “The ties that I have here were too strong for me to break.
“I’m staying at the club. I’m proud to be captain of the club and I’m looking forward to achieving my ambitions.”
Arsenal said in a statement: “Naturally the club is delighted that Patrick Vieira has reaffirmed his commitment to Arsenal.
“As most people are aware, Patrick has spent much of the summer considering his future.
“Whilst we understood Patrick’s quandary, our position throughout has remained the same. We are a club driven by success on the pitch and that means we do not seek to sell our best players.
“Arsene Wenger has assembled a highly-talented squad of players with the ambition of winning every major honour the game has on offer.
“Patrick is pivotal to that objective and it has always been our desire for him to stay here at Arsenal.
“We now look forward to Patrick captaining the team to further glory over the coming seasons.
“On a final note, we wish to state that despite any suggestions to the contrary, Real Madrid have acted properly throughout this uncertain period.”
