Gunners chief kicking himself for not taking a chance on Yaya.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has insisted that one of visa biggest regrets in football is not taking the chance to sign Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure back in 2003, Sky Sports reports.
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Toure was busy making a name for himself in the game at Belgian side Beveren when he was invited by Wenger to join the Gunners for a trial.
Wenger was keen to do a deal to bring Toure in alongside brother Kolo, who was already at the club, but after a delay in gaining a work permit the midfielder opted instead to join Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine.
Toure has since gone on to establish himself as one of the finest midfielders in the world thanks to spells with Monaco and Barcelona before linking up with Manchester City in 2010.
“It’s up at the top,” Wenger said when asked how highly missing out on Toure ranked on his lift of regrets.
“But let’s not forget that Yaya Toure had an agreement with us and it’s not because we did not want to sign him that he went to Ukraine.
“We had to wait for his passport in Belgium. We have made mistakes [with transfers], but this was not a mistake.
“He preferred to go to Metalurh Donetsk because he could go there without a passport.”
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