Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed that he had the opportunity to join Arsenal after visiting the club. During a recent interview with Arsenal fan Piers Morgan, Ibrahimovic shared details about this potential move.
According to Ibrahimovic, the arrangement involved him going on trial with Arsenal, and if he performed well, the club would have signed him. However, he ultimately decided to turn down the opportunity because he was not prepared to undergo a trial, choosing a different path in his football career.
He tells Morgan about the encounter with Arsene Wenger, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
‘I came in his office, and we spoke and he was like, “What do you want?” He wanted to get to know me, to feel me. Because I think he is a type of person, he just don’t buy the player, he wants to know what he is buying I think. In the end, he had an Arsenal shirt with Number 9 and, “We want you to come and do a trial for two weeks.”
‘Everything was good until he said you come and do a trial. I was looking at him. Obviously he is Wenger, I am nobody at that moment. I said, “I don’t do trials”, and he was like, “What do you mean?”
‘”I don’t do trials, either you want me or you don’t want me, or else why am I here?” That was me, but it was not to play a game, it was me. “No, but you have to come and do a trial” and then, “No, no, you don’t understand, I don’t do trials”. That was it, I never went to Arsenal.’
It’s an interesting anecdote that sheds light on what could have been a different chapter in Ibrahimovic’s career, particularly in the context of his storied football journey.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Ibrahimovic has had a successful career and will always be considered one of the best players ever to grace the football pitch.
We can only imagine how we would have been as a club if we had signed him at that career stage.
However, we do not have to worry about that now because we have had much better players in the years after that encounter.
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Sounds like we had a narrow escape from that ego on legs.
However brilliant any player is -or thinks he is- IF his ego walks in the door before he does, you would be mad to sign him.
Great player but one who thought himself TOO good for our club. UGH!
That’s certainly the impression I got
He showed how”prolific” he was supposed to be, when he attempted to play for Barca…😂
He played for us, he would of left after a year or two to Chelsea or another club. He wouldn’t be an arsenal legend.
Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. Ronaldo was the biggest miss if we are naming “could have” players.
The last statement “We have had much better players in the years after that encounter.”
Really? Which strikers have been better since then? Giroud? Sanogoal? Auba? Laca? Nketiah? Jesus?
Henry was better by far, but I can’t recall us having a better striker option in the years after.
Agree he wouldn’t have stayed long, and his ego would have been an issue. But you can’t minimize his talent by suggesting we have had better since that meeting with Wenger.