You’ve certainly heard the stories, and there are many of them. The roster of players who were close to joining Arsenal under Arsene Wenger is a veritable who’s who of global football.
It’s almost become a recurring joke how many stars were on the cusp of joining the Gunners. According to Planet Football, we can’t forget notable mentions like N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Eden Hazard, Angel Di Maria, Karim Benzema, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Didier Drogba.
Yet, when you look at the starting lineup of players Wenger nearly signed for Arsenal, it truly makes you ponder what might have been. Work permit and passport issues prevented the Frenchman from landing Ronaldinho and Yaya Toure, while he admitted that not signing Gareth Bale from Southampton was a “huge mistake.”
Although the decision is somewhat understandable given that Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy were the left-backs at the time, and who could have foreseen Bale’s transformation into one of the best wingers of his generation? The same rationale applies to Lionel Messi, who was firmly rooted at Barcelona.
That being said, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s ascent to stardom and Kylian Mbappe’s current trajectory, those two might be the most significant transfer regrets for Arsenal. That is, until now. Another player who slipped through Arsenal’s fingers long after Wenger’s departure is Jude Bellingham.
According to club legend Tony Adams, the England international could have joined North London before heading to Borussia Dortmund and eventually Real Madrid in the recent summer. However, the move didn’t materialize because Edu Gaspar claimed not to know anything about him.
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