Arsenal have had an interesting summer window, and like every year, transfer plans haven’t gone according to plan, with target Lisandro Martinez recently signing for Manchester United.
The Red Devils pipped the Gunners to the Argentine defender in a deal worth £57m, with Arsenal seemingly being rejected by Martinez who has opted to reunite with Erik Ten Hag at United.
Indeed, Arsenal might have dodged a bullet with Martinez given the obscene price United forked out to sign the defender, a fee which could increase even more if certain clauses are met, yet the centre-back is far from the first player to reject a move to north London.
So here at HITC Sport, we take a look at an entire XI of players who turned down the chance to sign for Arsenal following Martinez’s blockbuster move to United, with the Gunners missing out on some truly phenomenal talents over the years.
Lisandro Martinez headlines the backline with Achraf Hakimi
Martinez might be the most recent high-profile defender to reject Arsenal, but the centre-back is hardly the first, not the first from Ajax, as an incredible four players from the Dutch giants have turned down a move to north London.
Last summer saw left-back Nicolas Tagliafico and goalkeeper Andre Onana turn down moves to Arsenal, whilst ten years ago Tottenham icon Jan Vertonghen rejected a transfer to the Gunners in favour of signing for Spurs in one of the best deals the White Hart side have even done in the Premier League era.
Completing the defence is PSG star Achraf Hakimi, who last summer was also linked with a move to Arsenal after a title-winning year with Inter Milan, though the Moroccan international rejected a Premier League switch in favour of a reported £60m transfer to Paris.
Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes stars alongside N’Golo Kante
Central midfielders come and go from Arsenal like they’re going out of fashion, and the ones who reject a move to north London are usually players who eventually go on to have incredible careers, which could be said for the trio we’ve selected in our XI.
N’Golo Kante is arguably the biggest name in this midfield, and the Chelsea superstar almost signed for Arsenal on not one but two separate occasions, with the Gunners eyeing the French international before his move to Leicester City and one year later after his Premier League triumph.
Making up the rest of the midfield is Italian international Manuel Locatelli and Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes, who last summer both rejected moves to Arsenal with the Brazilian star moving to the northeast in January and then scoring against Mikel Arteta’s side in the penultimate game of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo leads the line with Kylian Mbappe and Raphinha
Arsenal’s list of forwards who rejected a move is like a ‘who’s who’ of incredible attackers who went on to dominate the game, and Cristiano Ronaldo being quite literally the highest goalscorer in the history of football is a prime example.
Arsene Wenger famously tried to sign the Portuguese legend during his Sporting Lisbon days, yet Manchester United were able to convince the attacker to move to Old Trafford instead, with PSG doing the same for Kylian Mbappe in a £166m transfer.
To wrap up the XI, it seems fitting to mention another player who rejected Arsenal this summer, that being Brazilian international Raphinha, who turned down both the Gunners and Chelsea to secure his dream move to FC Barcelona in one of the biggest transfers of the window this year.
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