Top 10 players that Arsene Wenger claims he nearly signed

Wenger 'nearly' signed some of the best players of this generation at Arsenal.×Proofread “We had identified Di Maria when he was 17. We wanted him to come here. But he goes to Portugal and from Portugal he goes to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit. That means that he can only come to England once he’s worth a huge amount of money. What does it mean if at the end of the day he comes into the country anyway, with the only difference being it’s for a huge amount of money. And who do you pay that to? A club like Real Madrid, who don’t need the money.”Now unless you have no idea about football or live in Mars, you can guess who might’ve said these words without even paying attention to the title. It is that time of the year again, the time of the European club transfer window.It is also that time of the year when we see Arsene Wenger and his club being linked to every major player from every major club, before signing some “one-for-the-future” 17-year old Frenchman. While Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have been rare exceptions, it has generally always been a case of so near, yet so far for the North London club.So, here’s a look at the very best “Oh! So nearly” Arsene Wenger signings. Warning: Gooners who have no idea about what they’re going to witness may proceed with caution.

#1 Lionel Messi

"I think in the end [Messi] was not so keen to move. It was not completely down to a flat in the end, it was down to the fact that Messi was comfortable at Barcelona.”

Brendan Rodgers knows what Wenger is talking about here. For some players, it isn’t just about the money and the prestige. Accommodation matters. And that is supposedly the reason why a 15-year-old Leo Messi politely refused the chance to join Arsenal. Wenger tried to sign not just the Argentine, but also Gerard Pique and... and Cesc Fabregas, about whom I’m not going to elaborate as I don’t want to put salt into Gooner wounds.

Now imagine the trio of Ibrahimovic-Messi-Ronaldo. Like Ray Hudson would put it, “Orgasmic!”. Or as Arsene Wenger might rather have put it “I could’ve signed them, but I had Gnabry, Sanogo and Miyaichi, so I didn’t”.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

"My biggest regret? I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo, and not only did I not get him, he signed for Manchester United. So that of course still hurts today."

For a man who can have an entire library dedicated to his transfer regrets to say this is his biggest regret, is saying something. Not very succinctly put, I know, but you don’t get the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on the cheap every day. Wenger was monitoring the Portuguese youngster closely, when Sir Alex snatched him right from under his nose. Arsene Wenger would live to rue his indecision.

Like he philosophically put it “That's what life is about. You give your best but sometimes you might find that people are stronger than you. That can happen as well.”

#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

"He was 16, I asked him to have some training with the first team. He did not want to do it and I did not sign him."

This statement from Wenger is also true, although “he did not want to do it” takes the punch away from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s famous reply, which is now stuff of legend.

“Zlatan doesn’t do auditions” said the teenager. Wenger’s pride was hurt. He couldn’t sign a kid just on hearsay, however talented he was. Wenger stood true to his principles and Zlatan stood true to his talent. The maverick journeyman went on to become one of the greatest strikers of modern times and later went on to reveal –

“Arsene (Wenger) gave me the famous red and white jersey - the No 9 shirt with Ibrahimovic on it and I was so pleased I even posed for a picture wearing it.” Though the photoshoot did materialise, the auditions never did.

#4 Ronaldinho

"We could have got Ronaldinho before he went to PSG. I met his brother, who is his agent, a long, long time before he went to PSG, when he was 20, but we just could not get him to England because of the rules here.”

Now, this is another case where Wenger does have a point. It is incredibly hard for English clubs to sign players from South America, because of the outdated and stringent work permit rules in the Old Blighty.

But as was the case with Angel Di Maria, the reason as to why Wenger failed to show similar interest in Ronaldinho after his first successful stint in Europe, is a million dollar question. And as that famous fact of footballing truth goes, Arsenal’s loss is Barcelona’s gain. Always.

#5 Eden Hazard

"Yes, I wanted to take him. I had his agent at my home but again the barrier was financial and Chelsea made an effort that I couldn't make."

I read the last part of that quote with the scene of Roman Abramovich clad in Marlon Brando’s iconic suit, before delivering an even more iconic “offer-you-can’t-refuse” speech to the humbled Jimmy Caan, played by our man of the moment, Arsene Wenger.

The decision of not trying harder for the Belgian is something that Wenger may be regretting, especially since Hazard always seems to reserve his best for Arsenal. This was a deal that was quite out of Wenger’s reach though, to be honest. Chelsea rarely enter a losing transfer race. Arsenal rarely win one, unless its for a teenager.

#6 Xabi Alonso

"I have been criticised for not hiring Xabi Alonso or Gareth Barry. But if I signed them, I would have killed [Alex] Song, [Abou] Diaby and Denilson.”

This is the one argument of Arsene Wenger that can’t be contested against, refuted, disputed or disagreed with. Those would be mild reactions. Not signing Xabi Alonso because... because he wanted to protect Abou “Under-the-knife-at-all-times” Diaby and Alex “I-now-play-for-West Ham” Song, is a statement bordering on blasphemy.

Footballistically speaking, to copy on of Wenger’s innovative phrases, this decision should’ve been an absolute no-brainer. Not for Wenger though. With Liverpool failing to hold on to the Spaniard and with the rest of the big guns being well stocked in midfield, the player was there for the taking, especially since he preferred a move to London. Wenger’s insight kept him out though.

#7 Didier Drogba

"We watched him carefully but we felt he might not be completely ready. It was a mistake to miss him but when you are in football, everyone can understand. Anyway, we had Thierry Henry."

Didier Drogba versus Arsenal. Played 15. Scored 15. Whether it be for the blue of his beloved Chelsea or for the Turkish champions Galatasaray, Didier Drogba has made scoring against Arsenal a habit over the years. Now, every goal he scores against them, can be seen as an own goal by Le Professeur, who passed up on the opportunity to sign the legendary Ivorian.

Jose Mourinho knew better though, as he signed one of the greatest No9s of our generation, during his first stint at Chelsea. The rest, we know is history.

#8 Claude Makelele

“Makelele was close to signing with us. He was straight after Vieira came, August 1996. He was still in Nantes.”

One look at Arsenal’s well-documented issues at the Central Holding Midfield role over the last decade or so would show that Arsenal miss a real, hard tackler in the area; they miss that fighter who would hound the opposition until they give the ball away. To put it in a nutshell, they need a player like Claude Makelele.

The Frenchman who ended up defining the CDM role was courted by Wenger and his team, when he was just 23. But then, Nantes called, Wenger stalled, Makelele ran away. Ran away to Celta Vigo, before joining the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea. If only Wenger had been a bit more decisive, Makelele would’ve been in North London and not West.

#9 Ruud Van Nistelrooy

“Arsene had a thing about Van Nistelrooy. I remember him saying he'd had a chance to sign Ruud but had decided he was not good enough to play for Arsenal.”

Sir Alex Ferguson made this startling revelation in his autobiography, much to the shock and dismay of Gooners all over the world. Few clubs in the world would’ve let an opportunity to sign the Dutch goal-machine fall through. And, Arsene Wenger didn’t even pursue the opportunity to sign the striker. He decided to keep faith in the Merseyside lad, Francis Jeffers instead. In three full seasons at North London, Jeffers scored a grand total of four goals.

It wasn’t much of a mistake Arsene. After all, like the Blackburn Rovers owner, Jack Walker once said “Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?”

#10 Yaya Toure

"I know him very well, since he was 15 years old, so I know him for a long time. He is a top-class talent. He was here as a young boy but we cannot get players in here if they are not internationals. He had no work permit and was too young. We tried to wait until when he was in Belgium, we tried to get him a European passport. He was not patient enough and left for Metalurh Donetsk."

Look at the picture. Now imagine the magisterial Ivorian in place of the flailing Frenchman commanding Arsenal’s midfield. That too when Yaya Toure plied his trade at North London as a teenager before leaving in frustration. Simply Arsene Wenger. Instead, the other flailing Frenchman jumped ship to the Etihad. Typical Arsenal.

#11 Honorable Mentions

- Petr Cech

- Vincent Kompany

- Gerard Pique

- Raphael Varane.

- Samuel Eto’o

- Joe Hart

- Paul Pogba

- Roberto Carlos

Hmmm.