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The two players Arsene Wenger regretted not signing the most in his 22 years at Arsenal
Arsenal made a whole host of incredible signings during Arsene Wenger’s reign who are widely viewed as some of the greatest footballers of all time.
Stalwarts such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira spring to mind, who were all signed by Arsenal when Wenger was in charge and are still heralded worldwide as legends of the game.
Especially when the Gunners were still playing their football at the Highbury Stadium, Arsene Wenger was at the peak of his powers and a key reason why that being the case was the club’s outstanding recruitment.
While there were flop signings under Wenger at Arsenal such as Shokdran Mustafi and Lucas Perez, there were also shrewd additions during the Emirates era when the North Londoners brought in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
| BIG NAMES ARSENE WENGER MISSED OUT ON AT ARSENAL |
| PAUL POGBA |
| DIDIER DROGBA |
| VINCENT KOMPANY |
| GARETH BALE |
| GIANLUIGI BUFFON |
| YAYA TOURE |
But with the Frenchman having managed Arsenal for 22 years, it comes as no surprise that he missed out on big names that he still regrets.
Arsene Wenger regretted not signing Cristiano Ronaldo at Arsenal the most
Arsene Wenger is no different, with Ian Wright asking the former Arsenal boss the one player he regretted not signing the most during his time in N5.
Wenger instantly named Cristiano Ronaldo and revealed how close the Gunners were to signing him before Manchester United swooped in for his signature in 2003.
Arsene Wenger said in an interview with SPORTbible in 2021: “Certainly Cristiano Ronaldo.”
“I thought it was possible and if we were a fraction quicker, a few days because we had agreed and Man United came in five, six days later, so I would say at the start of my career, Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Arsene Wenger would have been frustrated to witness Ronaldo blossom into the best player in the world in a United shirt and eventually etch his name into the history books as one of the greatest players to have ever graced the game. Perhaps annoyingly for Wenger as well, the Portuguese legend was rather productive against Arsenal — registering nine goals and two assists against them in 18 appearances.
| CRISTIANO RONALDO RECORD VS ARSENAL | APPEARANCES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
| 18 | 9 | 2 |
Arsene Wenger regretted not signing N’Golo Kante at Arsenal the most after Cristiano Ronaldo
Arsene Wenger revealed in the same interview that the second player he regretted not signing the most during his legendary spell at Arsenal was N’Golo Kante.
“At the end of my career, N’Golo Kante.”
Wenger admitted that he had a close friend who worked at French club Suresnes who recommended him to sign Kante and yet, the three-time Premier League-winning manager missed out on his signature.
“Easy because he played in a club in Paris called Suresnes where one of my best friends is director and he told me, ‘Please, I have a player. He is unbelievable. But nobody wants him in France.’ He took him [Kante] in his car and travelled with him from club to club and finally, a club in division three in France took him. It is an unbelievable story with N’Golo Kante, you could make a film as well with him. And he has something you don’t find often, he wins the ball without making any foul.”
Kante, who won two league titles and the Champions League amongst other trophies at Leicester City and Chelsea would perhaps had been the perfect heir to Patrick Vieira in the middle of the park had Arsenal signed him. But unfortunately for Wenger, Kante and Ronaldo became legends elsewhere instead of in North London.