It appears that there was a time when Arsenal were interested in signing Aleksandr Kokorin, back when he was still at Dynamo Moscow.
The now 32-year-old, on loan at Aris Limassol in Cyprus, gave an interview to Nobel on YouTube, which was relayed by Fiorentina News.
The Russian forward was a target for Arsenal back in 2015, with a loan deal turned down according to reports at the time, but it was actually the player himself who refused to move to the Emirates.
Giving the interview, he touched on a few subjects, including his situation at Fiorentina, which saw him leave the club last summer after failing to find the back of the net in 11 appearances for them.
He was also asked about the time Arsenal came knocking, to which he replied: “I turned down a transfer to the Gunners. I was at Dynamo Moscow, we were in the Europa League and the club had a big project. There was a moment when I thought the team held up to Arsenal’s level. Then, we went crazy, and so many left.”
During his time in Russia, the forward played for the aforementioned Moscow team, as well as their rivals Spartak Moscow and Zenit Saint-Petersburg.
However, since leaving his home country, things haven’t really gone his way until his time in Cyprus, which boasts 11 goals in 26 games to date.
