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The captain of the French national team and London club, Patrick Vieira, will wear the jersey of the Turin club next season - this was officially confirmed on Thursday evening by both clubs that agreed on the player's transfer.
"I decided to leave the club because I felt that I needed a new challenge," - said Vieira - "But it doesn't mean that I was unhappy or had problems at Arsenal. I just feel that I need to improve and face a new challenge, and I believe Juventus is the best challenge for me."
There have been talks about Vieira's move to Juventus for the past few months, and it is speculated that the London club had previously rejected an offer for the player. Yesterday, a trio of Juventus officials flew to the English capital and agreed to acquire Vieira for about 20 million euros.
Juventus would receive this money by selling several of their players - F.Miccoli, I.Tudor, E.Maresca. Meanwhile, Vieira, who has finalized contract details with the "Old Lady," is expected to sign a five-year agreement and form a pair with Brazilian Emerson in the defense line of the Italian champions.
"Patrick was a great player, one of the best in the club's history, and I think I had a special relationship with him because I brought him here. His influence not only on the Arsenal team but also on English football as a whole was truly huge," said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger bidding farewell to the footballer.
P. Vieira is no stranger to Italian football - at the age of 19, he played for Milan and was trained by current Juventus strategist Fabio Capello, but he did not fit into the team at that time. In 1996, he moved to Arsenal for 6 million euros, where he played 279 matches in England over nine years and won three Premier League titles and four FA Cup champion titles.
