Arsenal’s failed transfers from Ronaldo to Bale as Gunners miss out on Vlahovic

Arsenal were the biggest Premier League spenders in the summer as they forked out £150million on six new signings, but their January window has been a disaster.

Mikel Arteta has been actively pursuing a new centre-forward and the Gunners set their sights on Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic to solve their long-term issues.

However, with the Serbian heading to Juventus, he becomes the latest star that Arsenal have missed out on signing, and depending on how successful the move it, it could become another ‘what if’ moment for the Gunners fans.

Arsenal have brought through a lot of unknown stars over the years that turned out to become world-class talent, as the likes of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira established themselves at the club.

However, although there have been many success stories, Arsenal have an unwanted record of narrowly missing out on generational greats, and here Mirror Football takes a look at a full transfer XI of stars they missed out on…

Goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and the Italian is back playing for boyhood club Parma at the age of 43.

Buffon spent 19 years at Juventus over two spells, and originally signed for the Old Lady back in 2001 for a mammoth £43m fee, but Arsenal had previously shown interest in the Italian back in 1998.

Although Buffon would’ve been a major success story at Arsenal, they did have David Seaman and Jens Lehman to tie them over for some time, so it wasn’t the end of the world.

But Buffon admitted to BT Sport in 2016: “I remember when I was 20 years old in 1998 I had dinner once with Wenger from Arsenal.”

Defender – Gerard Pique

Arsene Wenger plotted an ambitious raid of Barcelona back in 2003, as he tried to sign Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi.

His Messi request was slammed immediately, but Fabregas moved to north London, and Pique very nearly joined him at Highbury, but the Spaniard stayed put.

Wenger previously told sport.es: “We wanted to take [Cesc] Fabregas, [Lionel] Messi and Pique. It worked only for Fabregas.”

Pique later joined Manchester United, but it was upon his return to Barcelona that he became a star, and the Spaniard was a rock at the back as the Catalan side dominated Europe.

Defender – Vincent Kompany

In 2006 a young Vincent Kompany was starting to attract interest due to his performances for Belgian side Anderlecht, but Arsenal were one of the heavyweights in the mix.

However, Arsenal lost out as Kompany joined German club Hamburg, and then later moved to Manchester City just two years later, as the centre-back arrived just before Sheikh Mansour became their new owner.

The move was one that changed the Premier League for years to come, as Kompany later became City’s captain, and one of the best centre-backs to ever play in the English top-flight.

Arsenal’s hesitance cost themselves, and the rest of the Premier League dearly, as Kompany now has a statue outside the Etihad Stadium.

Defender – Raphael Varane

Wenger was known for discovering young French talent, and the former Arsenal manager was interested in Raphael Varane before Real Madrid hijacked a move.

Varane broke through at Lens in 2010, and before Arsenal could act, Madrid signed him, and the Frenchman became a key part of their defence for the next decade alongside Sergio Ramos.

Wenger previously told Eurosport: “He was at Lens, and we might well have caught him there.

“Yet at the same time, when you are in charge of a club like Arsenal, you have to wonder why this player is not playing for us.”

Defender – Gareth Bale

Arsenal’s failure to capture Gareth Bale from Southampton is a bitter pill to swallow, as the Welshman ended up becoming a sensation at arch-rivals Tottenham before securing a world-record transfer to Real Madrid in 2013.

At the time that Arsenal were interested, Bale was a left-back, and Wenger had the chance to sign him but decided against it as he already had Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy at the club.

Bale turned out to be a little bit more than a left-back, and has scored 53 Premier League goals for Tottenham across two spells.

Wenger admitted his error, as he said: “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.”

Midfielder – Yaya Toure

Arsenal had the chance to sign all three Toure brothers, but only Kolo was selected for a move to the Gunners, while Yaya missed out.

This is despite the midfielder being given a trial at Arsenal, and somehow his talents were missed as the Ivorian ended up becoming a world-class talent at Barcelona and City.

Although Arsenal missed out on a future star in 2003, it wasn’t until 2007 that Toure started to prove his worth, and when he joined City in 2010 he punished the Gunners on many occasions.

Wenger revealed back in 2014: “It would be up at the top [of my list of regrets].”

Midfielder – Ngolo Kante

In 2016 Ngolo Kante stunned the world with his heroics in the Leicester midfield as the Foxes produced one of the most unexpected title wins of all time.

Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy were instantly targeted by rival clubs, and it was Chelsea that signed the Frenchman for what now seems like a bargain £32m fee.

However, it was Arsenal that got in their first, but they sensationally backed out of a deal because of the agents’ fees involved, and they pulled the plug on the transfer.

Chelsea swooped in and Kante is still one of the best midfielders in the world, and to rub salt in the wound, Arsenal went on to sign Granit Xhaka instead.

Forward – Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal were a dominant force during the early 2000’s, and one of Wenger’s biggest regrets was losing out on signing Cristiano Ronaldo to United in 2003.

Ronaldo had been in contact with Arsenal and Wenger, and a move was ‘very close’, but United convinced the Portuguese star to sign after they played Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly.

Wenger explained on Arsenal’s official website in 2018: “The obvious player [we missed] that comes to mind is [Cristiano] Ronaldo.

“He was here with his mother and we were very close. Then Man United came in and they had Carlos Queiroz at the time, who was their coach. United played against Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo was outstanding and they signed him.”

Arsenal fans can only imagine how lethal their attack may have been, as the Gunners could have started with both Henry and Ronaldo in the same forward line.

Forward – Luis Suarez

Ahead of Liverpool’s excellent infamous 2013/14 Premier League season, Arsenal had a very strong chance of signing Luis Suarez, who was seeking a move away from Anfield.

After establishing himself as one of the best strikers in the league, Suarez admitted that he wanted to leave the club, and Arsenal triggered his £40m release clause, and added an extra £1 onto their offer for the Uruguayan. Not £1m, one British pound.

Suarez wanted to leave but Liverpool did not want to let their star go, and especially not to Arsenal who had insulted the club with their offer, and the Uruguayan eventually stayed for one final season.

Liverpool almost won the league that year, and Suarez went from being one of the best strikers in the league, to one of the best on the planet, and he was then granted his move away, as he joined Barcelona for £75m.

At the time when Arsenal tried to sign Suarez, it was a real possibility that he could leave the club, and if the Gunners had submitted a serious, slightly higher offer, it’s likely that they would’ve signed him.

Forward – Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always had a rather large ego that has stuck with him throughout his career, but the Swedish international is excused due to his undeniable talent that has seen him perform at the highest level for two decades.

However, even back in 1999 Ibrahimovic was confident in his ability, and turned down an approach by Wenger for a trial at Arsenal.

The striker was at Malmo in Sweden at the time, and Wenger was interested in signing him and offered Ibrahimovic a trial at the club, which was turned down by Ibrahimovic who said: “Arsene Wenger asked me to have a trial with Arsenal when I was 17. I turned it down. Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”

Ajax later snapped him up in 2001 and the rest is history, as Ibrahimovic has been one of the most influential goalscorers that European football has ever seen.

Forward – Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe is perhaps the most desired player in world football right now, but again, Wenger had the chance to sign the young prodigy when he was at Monaco, the legendary manager’s former club.

Wenger even tried to sign him for free as his initial contract was coming to an end, but he was unsuccessful, and just years later the Frenchman was subject to a £184m bid from Real Madrid.

“We can talk about Mbappe, I was at his home when he was undecided whether to extend his contract with Monaco,” Wenger told beIN Sports.

“He could have come to Arsenal for free. I would say every club is full of histories like that.”

Maybe every club is, but unfortunately for Arsenal, there are many, many instances.