Midfielder keen on joining Arsenal, but Wenger abandoned move due to friendship

 

Once briefly a Manchester City player, Adrien Rabiot has been a sporadic transfer target for both Tottenham and Arsenal over the past two seasons.

No transfer window goes by without the young French midfielder being linked with at least one of the two London clubs, and it’s been more Emirates than White Hart Lane in recent times.

So much so that, according to Le Parisien, back in 2014, Wenger made all the right moves to try and get the now 21-year-old, but his friendly relationship with Nasser Al-Khelaifi put a stop to this.

The French newspaper report the manager spoke to the player’s entourage about a possible move, which they were all for, but when the PSG president told his good friend he wasn’t interested in letting his young midfielder go, Wenger didn’t even insist.

That’s how quickly it ended.

Since then, the player made a name for himself under Laurent Blanc last season, making 42 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, scoring six goals and picking up one assist.

Starting the first three league games of the season, the youngster was dropped for Blaise Matuidi on Friday as Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 with Saint-Etienne.