Rafael van der Vaart has admitted he would have jumped at the chance to join Arsenal last summer.

Dutchman reveals Arsenal attraction 12 months ago

Fantastic

Rafael van der Vaart admits he would have jumped at the chance to join Arsenal had Arsene Wenger approached him during his nightmare spell at Real Madrid. The Holland international, who instead joined North London rivals Tottenham for £8millon in the summer, has won over his new set of supporters with four goals in his opening six games for the club. His move to White Hart Lane came on the back of a forgettable stint at Spanish giants Real Madrid, where not only did he lose his place in the team, but his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Serie A club Roma offered him a route out of Madrid, only to withdraw their bid, while Spurs also expressed their interest in the midfielder 12 months ago.He rejected Tottenham so that wife Sylvie could continue her chemotherapy in Spain, although the 27-year-old admits there were clubs who would have made him think twice, including Arsenal. "I would have moved to Bayern Munich, but they weren't interested," he told the. "Arsenal? Yes of course, that would have been fantastic. "When Madrid sold Arjen Robben (to Bayern) and Wesley Sneijder (to Inter Milan) they asked me whether I would like to stay - I would even get my No. 23 shirt back. "What I went through is part of football - but it wasn't nice. Football is best when you're 10 years old."