The Gunners have a habit of missing out on key targets…
Arsenal are currently in poor form, and look like they are going to have trouble staying in the top four this season. One of the major reasons this is happening is because they failed to sign a centre-back or a defensive midfielder in the summer transfer window.
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With this in mind the Telegraph have put together an XI that incorporates players that Arsenal missed out on in past years. It creates a pretty amazing, if rather unbalanced side.
Imagine if they’d signed this lot…
GK) Pepe Reina
Arsene Wenger apparently tried to sign the Spanish stopper on a number of occasions. In 2010 Liverpool supposedly resisted a £20 million bid from the Gunners, and even as recently as this summer Arsenal were tempted to get him before he went to Bayern Munich.
CB) Gerard Pique
A year before he signed for Manchester United, the now Spain international had talks with the North London club. The signing was delayed by legal complications, and despite the Gunners having a verbal agreement, the centre-back ended up at Old Trafford the season after.
CB) Vincent Kompany
After Sol Campbell left the club in 2006, Arsene Wenger was looking for a defender. He enquired about Kompany while he was at Anderlecht but decided to not sign him. Now at Manchester City via Hamburg, the Belgian is one of the best defenders in the Premier League. With Arsenal’s defence their main weakness, imagine what could have been with the Sky Blues skipper at the back.
CB) Phil Jones
Now, Jones may not be the most inspiring player in this side, but he is however a promising centre-back, and that is exactly what Arsenal could do with at the moment. Wenger tried to sign him at the same time as Manchester United, but we all know who won that transfer battle.
CM) Xabi Alonso
In 2008 then Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez seemed to think that Gareth Barry was better than Xabi Alonso. No one knows why, but the important thing is that it meant the Spaniard was on the market. The Gunners were interested, but apparently weren’t willing to pay £18 million for the now World Cup winner. So Alonso didn’t leave and Barry didn’t arrive in Anfield, and the midfielder inspired Liverpool to a second place finish in the Premier League before moving to Real Madrid for £30 million.
CM) Yaya Toure
Toure had a trial at Arsenal eleven years ago, but Wenger wasn’t sure about the midfielder, and added work permit issues meant he didn’t sign. He then went to Metalurg Donetsk, before going on to Monaco, Olympiakos, Barcelona, and eventually Manchester City, where he has helped the Citizens to two titles in three years.
RW) Lionel Messi
As described by respected Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague, the Argentine nearly signed for the North London club in the 2002/03 season. The now World Cup Golden Ball winner decided to stay with Barcelona in the end, and he hasn’t done too badly in the decade that followed…
LW) Cristiano Ronaldo
As Wenger said himself, “My biggest regret? I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo. And not only did I not get him, but he signed for Manchester United. That, of course, still hurts today.” A year before he went to Manchester United, the Portuguese met the Frenchman and his staff, as well as touring the Arsenal training ground. However, they didn’t agree a deal, and we all know what’s happened since.
ST) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
In a now famous encounter, the Gunners offered the Swede a trial only for Ibrahimovic to answer saying, “No way, Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.” He has since gone on to play for Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and PSG, and is thought of as one of the best players in the world.
ST) Didier Drogba
Arsenal could have signed the Chelsea legend for as little as £100,000 when he was playing for French lower league side Le Mans. He has since scored thirteen goals in fourteen games against the North Londoners, and is another signing Wenger regrets. “I would have loved to have managed Didier Drogba, for two reasons. One, I missed him when he played at Le Mans in France, not even in the top league. I knew there was a good player there and I missed him. And secondly, because he hurt us so much in big games that all this pain would not have happened.”
ST) Luis Suarez
The summer before last Arsenal made their infamous £40,000,001 offer for the striker, just to have it turned down. It has since been revealed that they did activate the release clause that they were aiming for, but Liverpool just ignored it. Suarez has since moved on to Barcelona for a massive £75 million.