Two years ago, a flurry of articles in Romania started appearing about Arsenal being interested in an FCSB player named Ianis Stoica.
We covered it all at the time, as it was a bit of a mess, but the general consensus was that Gigi Becali, the owner of the club, did not want to sell, or at least wanted a lot of money for his starlet.
Now 20 years of age, Stoica is on loan at Universitatea Club, where he has scored five goals in 17 games, with four assists, and recently gave an interview to Flashscore in Romania, where he was asked about Arsenal’s interest in 2021.
Not beating around the bush, they immediately ask him if he knew anything about it at the time, and whether it was just stuff in the press or something more serious.
He replied: “There was… There was something. I can’t say exactly what, that’s not my job. I’m a player. It was probably just something between the clubs.”
Stoica was then further pressed about it, as they wondered if he was aware about any discussions between the clubs.
He added: “Yes, yes, but more than that, I really don’t know.”
So we appear to have some sort of confirmation from Stoica that Arsenal were indeed interested in signing him back in 2021, but it was never to be.
