Wenger rejected the chance to sign Defoe.
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Arsenal rejected the chance to sign former Tottenham Hotspur and current Toronto FC striker Jermain Defoe on transfer deadline day on Monday, reports the Telegraph.
It is less than six months since Defoe left the Premier League for MLS, but the 31-year-old has realised that he made a mistake and flew to England to try and force through a return to the nation.
Both Leicester City and QPR failed in their attempts to sign the forward, whilst Arsene Wenger turned down the opportunity to sign the Englishman and looked to other alternatives.
The Gunners were in the market for recruitment in attack following the news that Olivier Giroud is likely to be sidelined until 2015 with an ankle injury.
In the end the North London outfit signed Danny Welbeck from Manchester United in a £16m move and Defoe was left in the cold in Canada.
Toronto have admitted they have spoken to their attacker about his future after it emerged he was not happy in North America following the sacking of manager Ryan Nelsen and his backroom staff.
Leicester were keen to take Defoe on an initial loan with a future £6m payment for the England international, whilst Hoops boss Harry Redknapp has managed the player at West Ham United, Portsmouth and Tottenham and was also looking to sign him.
In the end though Toronto pulled the plug on the departure of their star.
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