£27 million Lille striker Jonathan David has admitted he dreamed of playing for Arsenal before joining the current Ligue 1 leaders in the summer, speaking to L’Equipe.
That doesn’t mean, however, the Canada international will never lead the line in that iconic red-and-white shirt.
Last year, Goal reported Arsenal had identified David as a long-term successor to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after he shot to fame during a 23-goal breakthrough campaign at KAA Gent in 2019/20.
The Brooklyn-born forward joined Lille instead in a club-record £27 million deal and, after a slow start to life in France, is starting to find the net regularly for a club chasing their first Ligue 1 title since the glory days of Gervinho, Yohan Cabaye and a young Eden Hazard.
And, given Arsenal have raided Les Dogues in each of the past two summers, for Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Magalhaes, it would be no surprise if David sealed a “dream” move to north London at some point in the near future.
“European clubs made me dream. I watched Barca a lot; Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, with Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira,” the 21-year-old says.
“I might not have been ready in my head. But that was the only option, my goal from the start. I knew I had to make sacrifices.”
Lille currently sit three points clear of PSG at the top of the table with Christophe Galtier’s young talented side overcoming problems off the pitch with some superb performances on it.
If David can emulate the form he showed in Belgium on a regular basis, it won’t be long before he, like Hazard, Pepe, Gervinho and Rafael Leao, graduates from the Stade Pierre Mauroy with flying honours.
“It was a very young team with a lot of ambition and there was the Champions League. I was going to play, continue my progress in a French-speaking environment, which was supposed to help my integration,” David says, explaining why he chose Lille over clubs in England and Germany.
“Ligue 1 was a chance to grow at a big club at the top of the table. It was the right time to test myself.”
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