David Moyes makes Celtic to Arsenal transfer claim

David Moyes left as West Ham United manager, having done a fantastic job during his stint at the London club and it feels like he is not getting the credit that he deserves. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the experienced Scotsman. Recently, he shed some light on his playing days though, which interestingly, began at Celtic.

Moyes played a few years at Celtic before making a move down south to join Cambridge United. He also represented clubs like Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Accies and Preston North End. He never was a top-level player but has done a brilliant job since his move to management.

Interestingly, it looks like his playing career could have turned out quite differently. While at Celtic, he had a chance to move to Arsenal but it did not end up materialising.

As reported by Glasgow World, Moyes said while speaking on the Rest is Football Podcast hosted by England icon Gary Lineker:

"When I was playing for Celtic, I was leaving and I thought I was going to Arsenal. I was leaving Celtic to join Arsenal. Terry Neill had phoned me up who was the manager at the time. Charlie Nicholas had just gone and me and him were big friends from Celtic.

“I thought it was going and the next call came back and said we’d like to bring you on loan. I said no way am I coming there, I play for Celtic. At that time we’d have challenged any of the teams in England and that wouldn’t happen just now. I said no. The ridiculous part to the story is I signed for Cambridge United a bit later on."

David Moyes makes Celtic to Arsenal transfer claim

The good thing is that Moyes does not seem to have many regrets about the matter. When asked about it by Lineker, he said:

"I don’t know. I wanted to play regular. I wasn’t playing all the time at Celtic and I wanted to play.

“In a strange way I really enjoyed my career, as I went and played the games, got all my games at clubs like Bristol and Cambridge. I could never quite make the Scotland team."

It is safe to say that Moyes has more than made up for it with his managerial career. His best stints have come at Everton and West Ham United without a shadow of a doubt.

He was also the chosen one to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but his stint there was not a good one. One could argue that he deserved more time and the club continue to struggle to this day. The Scotsman has also had roles at Real Sociedad, Sunderland and Preston North End.

And it does not feel like he is anywhere near being done just yet. It will be interesting to see where the former Celtic man ends up managing next and we can only wish him the best of luck, wherever that may turn out to be.