Arsenal has signed some of the world’s best players in recent decades and Arsene Wenger was in charge of most of those transfers.
The Frenchman managed Arsenal for more than 20 years and made the club one of England’s biggest during that time. He left the helm in 2018 having signed players like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Robert Pires.
However, there are so many other world-class players who he has missed out on signing and I discuss five of them in this article.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is arguably the most talented footballer that ever lived and it has been a privilege watching him play for Barcelona.
However, he would have been playing for Arsenal if the Gunners had their way. He was in the same youth team as Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal attempted to sign the Argentine alongside Fabregas and Gerard Pique, but they succeeded in signing only Fabregas.
Kylian Mbappe
Wenger revealed that he tried to sign Kylian Mbappe as early as 2016 but the teenager decided against making the move to England.
Mbappe also hailed Wenger in a 2017 interview and admitted that Arsenal were an option for him, but he chose to join another team instead of the Gunners, and Arsene Wenger wished him nothing but luck.
Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique was a member of the Barcelona youth team that had Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi.
Arsenal was in talks over signing the Spaniard alongside Fabregas but the defender chose to go to Manchester United instead, he would later return to Camp Nou.
Paul Pogba
Arsenal attempted to sign Paul Pogba when he was leaving Manchester United but the Frenchman’s agent decided to take his client to Italy with Juventus instead.
He has returned to Manchester United and he is currently struggling with an injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo told Piers Morgan that he was one step closer to joining Arsenal before he joined Manchester United instead.
