Martin Keown believes Arsenal missed out on an “incredible signing” when Manchester City legend Yaya Toure slipped through their fingers, speaking to talkSPORT (19 February, 10am).
It seems we can now add Kylian Mbappe to the list of players Arsenal oh-so narrowly missed out on.
Following his generation-defining hat-trick at the Camp Nou on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger revealed the Gunners could have signed the World Cup winner on a free transfer – before he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering £166 million, that is.
“I was at his home when he was undecided whether to extend his contract with Monaco,” Wenger told beIN Sports, via Sky.
“He could have come to Arsenal for free. I would say every club is full of histories like that.”
Arsenal, it seems, have enough stories to fill War And Peace.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Didier Drogba were all targets for the London giants before becoming household names elsewhere.
And you won’t have to look far to find a photo of Yaya Toure in the famous red-and-white shirt, representing Arsenal in 2003 during a friendly clash with Barnet.
Wenger admitted he regretted his failure to tie up a deal for the Ivorian, who would later become the driving force of the Man City machine.
“It’s killing the Arsenal fans! What I think we want to know is why they didn’t arrive at Arsenal, what stopped them getting the deals over the line?” Keown quipped, suggesting Toure could have been the second coming of the legendary Patrick Vieira.
“Someone like Yaya Toure would have been an incredible signing – take two of Patrick Vieira.
“These are all really disappointing things to hear as an Arsenal fan.”
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