Riyad Mahrez will be a key figure in Manchester City's quest to go back top of the Premier League at the Emirates on Wednesday, but he could well have been lining up for Mikel Arteta's side instead.
The Algerian has unquestionably been a success under Pep Guardiola, contributing to three Premier Leagues, three League Cups, and an FA Cup triumph to add to the fairytale title he won with Leicester City. But it was following that surreal 2015/16 campaign, when the £60 million pound man's career came so close to taking a different path.
No sooner had manager Claudio Ranieri touched the coveted silverware than the raid on his suddenly elevated stars began. N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater went to Chelsea, while Jamie Vardy turned down Arsenal. Arsene Wenger also came in for Mahrez but, this time, it wasn't the player responsible for the move not coming to fruition.
A desire from the attacker to head to North London was blocked. He instead spent two more seasons with the Foxes before City came calling, and admitted to France Football in 2019 he feels that period remains lost: "After the title, if I'd left for a top team, it wouldn't have been the same story," claimed Mahrez.
"For me, it's clear that I lost two years at the highest level. I lost two years! Because instead of arriving at City at 27, I could have been there at 24, 25. Leicester blocked me. They told me: 'You're not leaving, you're not leaving’. My agent had spoken to [Arsene] Wenger who really wanted me. It was nearly all done with Arsenal in 2016. I was really frustrated."
Of course, Mahrez did have Champions league football guaranteed at Leicester, and a creditable run to the quarter finals ensued. But so did a relegation battle, and after Ranieri was ruthlessly sacked, Mahrez would play for three more bosses before his big move: "It wasn't easy to go from being the best player in the Premier League to being a part of a team fighting against relegation," he added. "It's not the same job. Everyone is waiting for you around the corner.”
A quest for another title for Mahrez and co, albeit amid a current backdrop of potential scandal controversy, will reach a pivotal point at the Emirates. Arsenal have dropped five points in two games, but their season has still represented a side exceeding expectations. And two summer signings from City have ironically proved crucial - the now injured Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The Ukrainian left back cut something of an underrated figure during his own successful City stint, but according to a former teammate of Mahrez, t he man who won a PFA Players' and Fans Player of the Year double always knew his quality : " I spoke to Riyad Mahrez and Zinchenko was in his top three of players and their ability at Manchester City and we know how good the players are at City," Danny Simpson told talkSPORT last October.
There will be no inch given when the former friends come up against each other tonight. But with question marks beginning to hover over the depth of Arteta's squad, what he would do for a firing Riyad Mahrez in his ranks tonight. Somewhere in a parallel universe, he has that luxurious option.
