18 Top players Arsenal nearly signed
After Arsene Wenger revealed that Arsenal were close to signing precocious teen star Kylian Mbappe last year, we take a look at some of the other players the 'Gunners' have missed out on over the years.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Wenger revealed in 2011 that he asked after Hart when he was on loan at Birmingham.
Defender: Gerard Pique
Wenger: It was at a period where Fabregas came. We wanted to take Fabregas, Messi and Pique.
Defender: Vincent Kompany
Kompany's agent: I had meetings with Emilio Butragueno at Real Madrid, the club leaders at Barcelona and by Arsene Wenger himself at Arsenal.
Defender: Raphael Varane
Wenger had his eye on Varane when he played for Lens in his homeland.
Midfield: N'Golo Kante
Wenger: I tried to sign Kante when he was in France and when he was at Leicester.
Midfield: Paul Pogba
Wenger: We were interested in him. We tried to get him to come here. But he very quickly signed for Juventus.
Midfield: Yaya Toure
Wenger: Let's not forget that Toure had an agreement with us.
Forward: Lionel Messi
Wenger: It was at a period where Fabregas came. We wanted to take Fabregas, Messi and Pique.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
Wenger: My biggest regret, I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker: Kylian Mbappe
Wenger: Well, I believe that we were on the case last year. He was close to joining us.
Striker: Luis Suarez
Wenger: He was very close. We had an agreement with the player.
Sub: Thomas Lemar
Wenger: €100m (£92m) for Lemar? Yes all true, I wanted him.
Sub: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic: Zlatan doesn't do auditions.
Sub: Dimitri Payet
Wenger: He was a top talent, always. But [he] had periods of being up and down. I've looked at him many times.
Sub: Gareth Bale
Wenger: We didn't take him as we had Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy and didn't want another left-back. I must confess it was a huge mistake as he can play in midfield.
Sub: Ronaldinho
Wenger: We could have got Ronaldinho before he went to PSG.
Sub: Didier Drogba
Wenger: We watched Drogba very carefully when he was at Le Mans and his value was just £100,000. But we felt at the time he might not be completely ready… Looking back now, of course it was a mistake.
Sub: Dele Alli
Wenger admitted to scouting the player on many occasions when he was at MK Dons.