Didier Drogba: "I nearly joined Arsenal"

Former Chelsea star Didier Drogba has revealed that two Premier League clubs came close to signing him before he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2004.

Drogba, 35, is now plying his trade with Turkish champions Galatasaray and faces his old side, Chelsea, in the Champions League this week. Surprisingly, he’s actually been linked with a return to Chelsea in the summer.

The Ivorian, who cost the Blues £24 million when he signed from Ligue 1 side Marseille, confirmed that Arsenal and West Ham United almost agreed a deal to sign him on two separate occasions before he eventually moved to west London.

While he was at Guingamp, the Hammers allegedly made a move for the powerful centre forward but he turned them down.

“That was two years before moving to Chelsea, I could have gone there [West Ham],” Drogba told the Express.

Then, while at Marseille, Arsenal were interested in bringing him to Highbury but Arsene Wenger failed to make a concrete offer for the bulky front man’s services.

“I wasn’t really aware of it at the time,” said Drogba of interest from Wenger. “I think I spoke about it with my agents at the time.

“That’s life, you know, there’s a few things, a few decisions that you make in life take you in a different direction,” he said.