The former Gunners manager has a history of coming close to signing big players only to watch the transfers fall through. The biggest names include the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, N’Golo Kante, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and now Sancho.
He said, “I wanted to take him from Man City when he didn’t get the games. I tried to lure him because he’s from London. I tried to get him to Arsenal.”
Speaking in 2012 Ibra said, “Arsene 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. It was a fantastic moment for me.”
“So then I waited for him to convince me that I should join Arsenal. But he didn’t even try. He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, ‘I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial’. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘No way, Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.'”