Paul Scholes will go down in history as a Manchester United legend, with countless trophies to his name and a memorable return from retirement, but things could have gone very differently after the midfielder refused to play in a game.
Back in the 2001/02 season, United found themselves in the unusual position of playing two games in as many days, with a league meeting with Liverpool followed by a League Cup clash with Arsenal. Scholes was benched for the first game, making a late cameo, in place of David Beckham, but Sir Alex Ferguson had planned to use the midfielder in a rotated XI for the trip to Highbury.
Scholes, however, took the unusual decision of telling the Scotsman that he wouldn't play in north London. United's XI at Highbury was undoubtedly a weakened one, with Danny Webber and Michael Stewart among several academy talents in the starting line-up. But Scholes wasn't involved after taking matters into his own hands.
