Former Fulham defender Jérôme Bonnissel has revealed Arsenal made multiple attempts to sign him during Arsène Wenger’s early years at the north London club.
It’s been more than a decade since the 47-year-old announced his retirement, and L’Equipe have had an opportunity to chat with the Frenchman, in which they discussed various events that took place during his playing career.
The former left-back left his country for the first time when Deportivo La Coruña took him from Montpellier in 1996 and he spent three seasons with the Spanish side.
Bonnissel has now explained Wenger regularly called him to join Arsenal during his time at Deportivo La Coruña. However, a deal never materialised and he ended up joining Bordeaux in 1999.
The ex-Fulham man made this revelation when asked about the ‘transfer that almost happened’.
“During my three years at La Coruña, I thought I’d sign for Arsenal. At the end of each season, I had Arsène Wenger on the phone, but it never happened…” he said.
“David Dean came to see me by plane and the directors of Depor did not receive him… The president did not want to sell me and Arsenal would not have offered enough money.
“And I ended up signing up for Bordeaux, and then I moved to Fulham, because I really wanted to discover the Premier League.”
Bonnissel arrived at Craven Cottage in 2003 and he was regular in the first half of the 2003/04 season. He suffered a serious injury during a Boxing Day clash against Southampton and that was his last appearance for the English club.
