Remember when Arsène Wenger said Arsenal could have signed Dimitri Payet when he was doing really well at West Ham and people had some fun compiling teams with players the Frenchman had ‘missed out on’ during his time with the Gunners.
According to Mercato365 in France, Arsenal, whose interest at the time was well documented, came very close to signing the Monaco prodigy, now one of the most sought after youngsters in Europe after his great breakthrough season with the principality club.
Scoring 19 goals and picking up 11 assists in 32 games this season in all competitions, the 18-year-old’s name has been mentioned alongside astronomical figures to acquire his services, yet Wenger could have apparently signed him before March last year for a ‘derisory sum’, when he finally signed his professional contract with Monaco.
The French website claim Arsenal were in ‘very advanced’ negotiations with the young forward, after Gilles Grimandi had spotted him, but the Premier League side allegedly backtracked, probably due to the player wanting guaranteed game time, which was the reason why talks between him and Monaco stalled for so long.
Wenger himself confirmed he had approached Monaco about signing the player last summer, which clearly didn’t come off, and unless Arsenal break the bank for him in the coming transfer window, the time has now passed.
