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If we look at the past few seasons out, it is clear that Arsenal has often been a shadow of their successful past. The Gunners were one of the most revered teams in England before their collapse.
Arsene Wenger turned Arsenal into an unstoppable force between the 1990s and early 2000s. He had many supremely talented players under his command. Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Jens Lehmann, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Tony Adams — the list is never-ending.
The French boss was successful in managing such a star-studded squad. The biggest feather in Wenger's cap has to be Arsenal's 2003-04 campaign, where the Gunners secured the title without losing a single game.
While Arsenal welcomed many prospects, there were always those who got away. Let's have a look at five such players.
#5 Gianluigi Buffon
David Seaman guarded the Gunners' goalpost for 13 seasons and set quite a high standard for those who would follow in over 564 matches across all competitions. With the England shot-stopper nearing the end of his tenure at Highbury, Arsene Wenger had a huge task in replacing him.
In search of David Seaman's replacement, Arsene Wenger came across then-Parma goalie Gianluigi Buffon. The former Gunners boss met Buffon to discuss the possibility of him joining Arsenal.
However, Juventus jumped in between with a jaw-dropping £32.6m offer in 2001 to steal Buffon away from Arsenal. The Italian remained with the Turin outfit for a lengthy period before moving back to Parma in 2021.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"Zlatan doesn't do auditions" — this is one of the quotes that football fans around the world associate the most with the Sweden international. However, this story is not true in its entirety. While it is a fact that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was offered trials at Arsenal, there are many layers to the same.
The North Londoners wanted to sign the youngster from Malmo. However, Malmo's director Hasse Borg advised the forward not to appear for the same in order to take a firm stance. The 'take it or leave it' offer was laid flat on Wenger's table.
The French boss wasn't ready to take such a gamble and eventually decided to opt out of the transfer.
#3 Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba has to be the player that has hurt Arsenal the most. The former Chelsea man has scored 13 goals out of 15 appearances against the Gunners. At Chelsea, Drogba went on to become one of the most lethal strikers.
A prolific finisher and creative playmaker, Didier Drogba was instrumental in Chelsea's trophy achievements during his stint at Stamford Bridge. The Ivory Coast international secured four Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy with the Stamford Bridge side.
All this success could have been enjoyed by Wenger and his team if the Arsenal boss had signed Drogba when he had the opportunity to. Here's what Wenger said about Drogba:
"I missed him when he played in France at Le Mans – not even in the top league. I knew he was a good player there and I missed him."
#2 N'Golo Kante
Leicester's title-winning squad earned all the attention that they got during the 2015-16 season. Following their glorious campaign, many Leicester City players left the club for bigger teams and N'Golo Kante was one of them.
The tireless engine, who bosses the midfield like no other, was one of the key players that orchestrate The Foxes' EPL victory. In 2017, Wenger revealed that he had attempted to sign the French international not once but twice.
An admirer of Kante, Wenger revealed that he was made a move for the midfielder when he was in France and then in Leicester. Kante rejected the move on both occasions.
#1 Gareth Bale
Arsene Wenger was known for his trust in youngsters. Young players like Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calum Chambers and many others graced and grew under the watchful eyes of Wenger.
When Gareth Bale started catching the attention of everyone around, Wenger had his say on the talented Welsh international. As per Wenger, the Gunners did not need another left-back as they already had Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy in their ranks.
Bale was a full-back then and no one expected him to move into an advanced role. Wenger admits it was one of his biggest mistakes, just like failing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo. Gareth Bale later joined Arsenal's neighbors Tottenham Hotspur.
Years later, the Cardiff-born player moved to Real Madrid and won trophies to further decorate his career.
