Vieira was on brink of Real move - Dein

Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein believes the Gunners were just hours away from losing captain Patrick Vieira.

The French midfielder revealed yesterday that he wanted to stay at Arsenal after long drawn-out talks about a possible move to Real Madrid.

Dein was at neighbour Arsene Wenger’s Hertfordshire home late on Thursday night, when a clearly troubled Vieira came calling.

The Highbury captain was there to beat the deadline his manager had set for him to announce whether he would move to Real or stay put.

Both men expected him to confirm he had decided on Madrid, leaving them the only option of how much money they could squeeze from Real for their top player.

But Vieira, rated at £30m-plus by Arsenal, stunned them both by saying: “I cannot leave the club. Thank you for giving me all this time to make up my mind, but I want to stay.”

“It was dramatic and emotional,” said Dein.

“I can’t give any more details of what was said or whether there were any tears.

“It had been going on for eight weeks. Patrick has been such a great player for us and for him to leave would a have been a big thing for all of us. But all the signs were that this was his wish.

“In fact, he told Arsene and me in early June that he wanted to leave and go to Real Madrid. We obviously tried very hard to dissuade him, but his mind was very made up and these things have to run their course.

“It started in Portugal at Euro 2004, went to pre-season in Austria, then to Amsterdam (where Arsenal played River Plate of Argentina and Ajax). Then we came back for more talks in London.

“If you are going to sell a player you have to get the best price for him and we were not a willing seller. “It was a question of us taking money for Patrick leaving.

“I would say we came within hours of losing him, maybe just an hour. Literally, just prior to signing off an agreement, he said ‘I cannot leave the club’. It had obviously been running through his mind for some time and he came to the decision himself.

“It was eight weeks of torture. I’ve felt like the fire brigade on Guy Fawkes night for the past few weeks.”

Arsenal rated Vieira at over £30million and reports in Spain said Real pulled the plug when the Gunners suddenly raised their asking price from £22.1million to more than £28million.

But Dein insisted: “There was no money involved and no extension of (Patrick’s) contract. We wouldn’t have let money come into it. We would not have gone down that route.

“But we never wanted him to leave and at the end of last season he was delighted and not even thinking of a move.

“Clearly, though, during the European Championships his head was turned. There are now three individuals who I will be asking some very searching questions about their activities during this saga.

“Patrick’s head was lately turned. OK, he was compliant, but it is against FIFA rules to destabilise a player under contract. We will complain to FIFA because rules are there to be respected.”

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp and his chairman Milan Mandaric have recently slammed Arsenal for unsettling West Ham’s Michael Carrick, a £3.5million club-record Pompey target, by making a late move for the midfielder - and then dropping out.

Dein responded: “That was not unsettling a player for weeks on end as in Patrick’s case. We made an enquiry straight to West Ham about Michael and said we could be interested because he was one of several we talked about as cover for Patrick leaving.

“Then we didn’t pursue it and it was all over in a couple of days. It is not like a player who is under contract and you turn his head and make him leave a club.”

Dein also denied reports Vieira had fallen out with Arsenal and France team-mates Thierry Henry and Robert Pires over the Real Madrid saga.

He said: “I like to think of us as a tight family unit and I think he just couldn’t leave the family. None of those stories were true and used a lot of negative energy for us during the summer.

“The board were unanimous that we didn’t need to sell him, but likewise we were not against Arsene saying there was an open door if Patrick thought leaving was the right thing to do.”

Vieira’s thigh injury means he is unlikely to be available for selection for at least two more weeks.

Spanish teenager Cesc Fabregas – a revelation against Manchester United in last Sunday’s Community Shield – and new signing Mathieu Flamini are vying to replace him at Everton tomorrow, where the Gunners aim to extend their unbeaten Premiership run to 41 matches.

It was Everton, thanks to Wayne Rooney’s unforgettable late winner, who were first to inflict defeat upon them in October the season before last.

Sol Campbell is still out and Henry highly doubtful with Achilles problems but Campbell’s centre-back partner Kolo Toure has been given an extension to his contract until 2009.