Vieira vows to win back fans

Patrick Vieira said yesterday that he would like to finish his career at Arsenal after ending the summer's most protracted transfer saga by turning down a move to Real Madrid.

The Arsenal captain acknowledged that he will have to win back some of the supporters at Highbury after staying silent during two months in which he seemed set to leave the club.

But he is confident of restoring his relationship with the fans and named them as a factor in his decision to stay, also mentioning his contentment with life at Highbury and his belief that Arsenal can enjoy more success.

Whatever the reasons for Vieira's choice, it is a significant U-turn given that he told colleagues he would go to Madrid for a new challenge and even Arsene Wenger was convinced he would lose his captain.

Vieira was said to have changed his mind at the last minute and the outcome is a major boost for his club. They must also be delighted that he insisted there will be no repeat of the uncertainty that has shrouded his future for the past few summers.

"I really believe I will stay for the three years left on my contract," he said. "I don't see myself leaving." Asked later whether he would like to finish his career at Arsenal, he said: "Of course. If it's possible that's what I would love to do." There has been much speculation that Vieira's move to the Bernabeu was called off because the clubs failed to agree a fee or the midfielder could not settle on personal terms. Vieira, a fiercely proud man, would not have been given parity with Madrid's highest earners by the club's president Florentino Perez and considered that an insult.

Yet Arsenal and Vieira denied any financial difficulties, with the player saying of the proposed contract: "There were one or two details which had to be clarified but we were getting really close to agreeing everything." He added: "It's nothing to do with money or prestige, it's coming from the heart."

That is disputed by Perez, who is adamant Arsenal upped the asking price at the last minute and scuppered the deal. But those claims need to be seen in a context that it reflects better on his club to have been thwarted by the Premiership champions rather than turned down yet again by Vieira, with whom he had never seen eye to eye.

"Patrick made his own decision," said Arsenal's vice-chairman David Dein. "He was ready for a new challenge and we accepted that. Right at the last minute, when we were ready to sign a deal with Real, he changed his mind. Everything was agreed and he would have become a Real player."

Vieira went to Wenger's house on Thursday night to inform the manager and Dein of his decision. "I thanked them for their patience . . . and I expressed my desire to stay and fight for the club," Vieira said.

"I'm still in love with the club. I have spent eight years at Arsenal and those years have been very successful for me. I took my time to really think about my future because I'm 28 and I wanted to decide what was best for me.

"I was thinking about (leaving) because Real is one of the best teams in the world. But I'm really confident the best (thing) was to stay at Arsenal."

Vieira talked about how he feels "free" on the pitch there and believes he can "still improve" and win trophies. Some will feel the manager has ended up with a frustrated player who has missed his last chance of going to Madrid and the France international knows not all the club's supporters retain their admiration for him.

"The only way I can win fans back is on the pitch," he said. "I understand some fans will be really happy that I'm staying and some will ask why I didn't express myself during the eight weeks. But my relationship with them has been tremendous and that is one of the big reasons why I'm staying."

There were those at Highbury who would rather have got the money for Vieira but Wenger is not among them. "There were times when I thought I had lost him, more than one," he said. "The message his decision gives is that there is something special here. Some of our rivals may have thought he would go. I don't know how much of an impact it will have on them but I know the impact it will have on us."