Blackburn Rovers will always rue Arsenal's £4.75m poaching of Aston Villa icon | OneFootball

David Platt enjoyed success at Arsenal in the late nineties, and Blackburn still feels aggrieved that it wasn't with them.

David Platt had made a name for himself in England throughout the opening six years of his career, and after a few years bouncing around clubs in Italy, the Three Lions international was ready to come back home.

Arsenal ended up being the team of choice for the then-29-year-old, as he joined Bruce Rioch's Gunners for a fee of £4.75 million from Sampdoria in the summer of 1995, beating out the likes of Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers for his signature.

It was considered a surprising move at the time, as Arsenal had just finished in the bottom half of the Premier League the season prior, whilst Blackburn had just beaten out the Red Devils for the 1994/95 top-flight title.

However, it was a sign of a small resurgence for the Gunners. They were showing signs of improvement in the transfer market, going out and spending millions on exciting players from foreign leagues.

Earlier in the same window, a Dutchman by the name of Dennis Bergkamp also arrived at Highbury.

Arsenal were back on the rise, and Platt would help them get there. Meanwhile, Blackburn would be relegated four seasons after they were crowned Champions.

Known for their 'moneybags' handle at the time, perhaps the midfielder was someone they should have pursued heavily.

David Platt continued his excellence in the English top flight at Arsenal after Blackburn Rovers snub

Blackburn looked on in envy as Arsenal managed to snag Platt from under their noses, as, despite never really settling in Italy, the midfielder was still a danger in front of goal, and many expected him to resume where he left off at Aston Villa.

At Villa Park, Platt became an icon and an England international.

Having excelled in the fourth tier with Crewe Alexandra for three years, he made the switch to Aston Villa and immediately helped them to promotion to the old First Division, now known as the Premier League.

Back-to-back 19-goal campaigns piqued the interest of Italian clubs, and he scored 31 in 100 Serie A appearances for the likes of Bari, Juventus and Sampdoria before returning to England in a £4.75 million deal with Arsenal.

Platt was the England captain at the time, so he was bound to garner interest, and in the end, he was well worth the money spent by the Gunners to land him ahead of both Blackburn and Manchester United.

The midfielder's three seasons at the club may not have been as impressive in terms of goal contributions, with his six goals in his first year at the club resembling his peak, but he didn't exactly need to be, as Arsenal were on the rise with several attacking talents such as Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka.

Those four starred alongside Platt in Arsenal's 1997/98 campaign, where, under Arsène Wenger, the Gunners completed a Premier League and FA Cup double for only the second time in their history.

Unfortunately, Platt's career was winding down at that point, and he started just 11 league games that year.

He actually announced his retirement at the end of the 97/98 campaign, but did make a handful of appearances for Nottingham Forest after he became player-manager there in 1999.

Blackburn Rovers' sharp decline may have been prolonged with David Platt signing

Blackburn's collapse from Premier League champions to relegation candidates is well-documented, with the club playing in the second tier just five years after they finished top of the pile in the top flight.

After their title-winning campaign, Blackburn would finish below Platt and Arsenal for each of the three seasons the midfielder played at Highbury.

The season after he retired, Rovers finished 19th and went down to the First Division (Championship).

Having earned the nickname 'Moneybags Rovers' due to their large spending under Jack Walker, which saw Blackburn go from second tier to Premier League champions in four years, someone like Platt wouldn't have been out of reach back in 1995.

Ultimately, the success wasn't massively capitalised on, and quality signings such as Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux weren't being replicated with equal quality year by year.

Blackburn quickly became a less-than-desirable place to go, and their relegation was, while shocking, not as surprising as when they first won the Premier League in the first place.

Perhaps if Platt had arrived at Ewood Park, things might have been different.