Patrice Evra says he and Robin Van Persie agreed that Arsenal were a ‘baby team’ following the Dutchman’s move to Old Trafford six years ago.

Van Persie left Arsenal for United in 2012 in a controversial switch where the striker claimed the Gunners’ ambition did not match that of his own.

The Dutch striker won the Premier League in his first season with United – Sir Alex Ferguson’s last in charge of the club.

And now Patrice Evra, who was part of Ferguson’s title winning squad of that year, has revealed how he spoke with Van Persie after his move, and how the Dutchman says he was relieved to be joining a club that had title winning ambitions.

“I give you an example when Robin van Persie joined Man United,” Evra said. “First of all when he came I said ‘welcome to a proper team, a man team, not a baby team. And he laughed, but he understood straight away.

“I remember him saying ‘Patrice, to be fair, I just feel like now I’m playing for a big team because all of you win many trophies, many medals, and you still go in the gym before training, going in the gym after training.’

“Robin was like a kid, he was just like amazed about that. When he looked at us he’d say like ‘when I see all of you guys, I have to work hard because I want to win, I want to win trophies.”