Georgia international Jano Ananidze has reflected on his failed move to Premier League giants Arsenal with a knee injury forcing the playmaker into an early retirement, speaking to Championat.
Regrets, Ananidze has a few.
Around a decade ago, every European giant worth their salt had a 17-year-old Ananidze on their radar. Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Juventus to name just four.
And, at the time, Ananidze certainly appeared to have the world at his feet.
Likened to a young Luka Modric due to his diminutive frame and defence-splitting prowess, the teenager might have been denied a dream move to the Emirates early on in his career at Spartak Moscow but it seemed only a matter of time before he was posing for photos and signing autographs at one of the continent’s most iconic footballing arenas.
“When I got off to a great start, Arsenal wanted to buy me,” Ananidze recalls. “Spartak did not want to let me go for 5 million euros (£4m) because they were sure that, in a year, they would sell for 20 million euros (£17m).
“But I know 150 per cent that there was an offer (from Arsenal), and the management said that Jano was not for sale.
“Then, in different years, Valencia and Vitesse Arnhem wanted to buy me. But it never worked out that way.”
Arsenal wanted Jano Ananidze
Ananidze will celebrate his 30th birthday in October.
The 43-time Georgia international should be entering his prime but, due to a troublesome knee injury that has left him in near constant pain while restricting him to just six appearances since the start of 2020/21, it seems that Ananidze is bowing out having never managed to fulfil his vast potential.
“For the past couple of years, my knee has been constantly swollen,” the midfielder explains. “It was terrible, a real torment.
“I realized that no ice helps. I can’t bend my knee (and) started having problems with a completely different cartilage than before.
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“My doctor said: ‘We have been friends for many years, I won’t tell anyone else, but if you don’t stop now, then soon you won’t be able to play even with your child in the yard. Stop if you don’t want to have a complete kneecap replacement in a couple of years.’
“I replied: ‘Understood, thank you, I will make a decision’.”
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