Manchester United's annoyance at being beaten by Arsenal in the race to sign Aaron Ramsey is likely to be compounded by the embarrassing revelation that the loss of the talented teenager was partially self-inflicted. It is understood that the failure of Sir Alex Ferguson to attend a meeting with Ramsey at the club's Carrington training ground on Friday played a crucial part in the Cardiff City midfield player's decision to choose Arsenal because it contrasted starkly with the attitude of Arsène Wenger, who took the 17-year-old and his parents for lunch in Zurich.

United had been favourites to sign Ramsey since putting together a £5 million deal in the days before he appeared as a substitute in Cardiff's FA Cup Final defeat by Portsmouth last month, but Ferguson's failure to return from a holiday in the South of France cost them that initial momentum. The club were so confident that they took the unusual step of announcing on their website that they had agreed terms with the Welsh club on Tuesday last week, before anyone at Old Trafford had met the player, although a series of meetings in successive days with Everton, United and Arsenal brought an end to that optimism.

David Moyes, the Everton manager, met Ramsey on Thursday and he was shown around United's training ground by Gary Neville the next day, but, although the Wales Under-21 player was grateful to have received personal attention from such experienced footballing figures, his parents are understood to have wanted some of their concerns to be addressed by senior management staff at Old Trafford, an oversight that played into Wenger's hands.

The Frenchman's idea of a summer holiday is a combination of scouting and television work at the European Championship finals and he arranged for the Ramsey family to be flown to Switzerland on Saturday before taking time to explain his vision for the youngster's development.

Ramsey was encouraged by Wenger's pledge to take personal responsibility for his development and, more crucial, the promise that he would remain at Arsenal rather than be sent back to Cardiff on loan, as had been proposed by United. Arsenal's record of giving young players early opportunities in the first team was also an influential factor, with Wenger using the examples of Cesc Fàbregas, Theo Walcott and Denilson to demonstrate that he would be given a chance to stake his claim, initially in the Carling Cup but potentially in the Barclays Premier League before the end of next season. With a much bigger squad and the manager absent, United were unable to make the same commitment.

Cardiff confirmed yesterday that Ramsey had chosen to sign for Arsenal in a deal that should be completed within the next few days, with their disappointment also as great as United's at missing out on the opportunity to have him back on loan. “In an ideal world, I would have wished him to go to Manchester United were to he to leave us,” Peter Ridsdale, the Cardiff chairman, said. “But we have to be careful as we have relationships with Arsenal and want to do business with them in the future.

“Arsenal's bid is a very straightforward, no-strings-attached, £5 million cash offer - simple. The only deal with a loan-back option was with Manchester United, but, ultimately, it's up to the player to decide.”

It is not the first time that Ramsey has brought disappointment to a leading sports outfit, with the St Helens rugby league club inquiring about him after he was spotted playing on the wing for his school in Caerphilly, only to be told that he had signed as a footballer for Cardiff.