5 world-class players Arsenal almost signed

Arsenal are second to none when it comes to identifying the brightest talents in world football. The Gunners are renowned for their ability to unearth future world-class superstars and attempt to sign them before other clubs. Whether they always succeed in signing these players, though, is another story.

With a look at their transfer activities over the years, it is easy to see that Arsenal have missed out on quite a few world-class players. In fact, the Gunners came close to signing some of the biggest names in the game right now during Arsene Wenger's stint at the Emirates Stadium.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, they failed to make the transfers happen, and only have themselves to blame for these near misses. On that note, here's a look at five world-class players Arsenal almost signed in recent years:

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#5 Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard was a huge thorn in Arsenal's chase during his spell with Chelsea. He bagged seven goals and three assists against the Gunners in the seven years he spent at Stamford Bridge. However, the Gunners could've avoided that had they managed to move ahead of their rivals to snap up the Belgian attacker.

Arsenal had the opportunity to sign Eden Hazard from Lille in the summer of 2012. However, they were reluctant to seal the transfer, allowing Chelsea to come in and hijack the deal. Former Gunners transfer negotiator Dick Law opened up on the situation during an interview in 2019. He said:

“Did we miss out on talents? Certainly. I remember sitting in meetings with Steve, Ivan and Arsene and gnashing our teeth over Thibaut Courtois. We knew he was good. Eden Hazard as well, we wanted to do that deal. But there was a sense of responsibility, and we ran the club prudently, all the time knowing that every £1 we spent we had to act as if it was our money. It was very, very difficult."

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#4 Luis Suarez

Arsenal were heavily linked with a swoop for Luis Suarez in the summer of 2013 following the striker's prolific outing with Liverpool during the 2012-13 campaign. Suarez was said to be keen on the move, but the Gunners shot themselves in the foot by submitting an underwhelming offer to Liverpool.

Arsenal tabled an offer of £40 million + £1, which angered the Reds and ended up ruining their chances of pulling off the transfer. Following another prolific season at Anfield, the Uruguayan earned a massive £75 million transfer to Barcelona, where he spent six years before joining Atletico Madrid last summer.

#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is another world-class player Arsenal came really close to signing. The Swede looked destined to join the Gunners during the summer of 2000, shortly after making a name for himself at Malmo.

According to the story, Ibrahimovic even visited Arsenal's training ground, where he was presented with a customised shirt bearing his name at the back. The turning point came when former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger asked the striker to participate in a training match.

That didn't sit well with the Sweden international, who gave a defiant response saying:

''Zlatan doesn't do auditions''.

He ended up joining Ajax a year later, spending three years there before switching to Juventus in the summer of 2004.

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#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal were one of the first clubs to attempt to sign a young Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting CP. The Portuguese even had a tour of the Gunners training ground in 2003, and looked destined to make the switch to the Emirates Stadium.

However, Manchester United joined the fray, and submitted a tempting bid to secure the services of the winger. Unable to counter the Red Devils' offer, Arsenal pulled out of the deal, allowing their local rivals to snap up the Portuguese.

Missing out on Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the few things former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger still regrets. The Frenchman opened up during an interview with Arsenal's website in May 2018 in this regard:

"The obvious player (that we missed out on) that comes to mind is 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."

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#1 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi was one of three Barcelona players Arsene Wenger tried to sign for Arsenal in 2003. However, the Frenchman could only snap up Cesc Fabregas, with Messi deciding to stay at Camp Nou and continue his progress.

Wenger gave an explanation of what transpired then while speaking in an interview in 2014. He said:

"In the end I think he was not so keen to move. It was not completely down to a flat; in the end, it was down to the fact that Messi was comfortable at Barcelona."

The Argentine's decision to stay put at Camp Nou eventually proved to be a spectacular one. He developed at Camp Nou to become arguably the greatest footballer in history, winning six Ballon d'Or awards, four European Golden Shoes, four Champions League titles and many more accolades.