Arsene Wenger Confirms Ibrahimovic Approach

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he narrowly missed out on signing Sweden superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovich when he was a youngster, according to Arsenal.com.

The PSG forward has hit the headlines this week after a stunning four-goal performance against England on Wednesday that included a quite ridiculous 35-yard overhead kick, and it once again showed Wenger and Arsenal fans what we missed out on all those years ago.

Wenger confirmed that Ibrahimovich came to north London to visit our training ground and as you can see from the photo above, he was even pictured in a Gunners shirt, but the 16-year-old refused to take part in a trial. We continued to monitor his progress but he eventually decided to join Ajax instead and the rest is history.

“He came here to visit the training ground,” said the Frenchman. “He didn’t want to make a trial because he was 16 years old at the time. He went home and we concluded to watch him again.

“I wanted to see him in training but it didn’t stop him from making a great career. In the end, he chose to go to Ajax Amsterdam. That happens. He’s not the only one in that case.

“The confidence he shows… if a performance isn’t there you can say [that] you don’t agree with it, but when a performance is there, you think [that] his confidence is justified. Through his career, he has justified why he believes in his own talent.”

Zlatan is not the first well-known player who Arsenal have missed out on over the years and he wont be the last. I would have loved to see how the cocky Swede would have developed under Wenger though. With the talent his has, he could have been a true Arsenal great.

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But alas it wasn’t to be. While it’s always frustrating to think of what could have been, there is no point worrying too much about the players we didn’t sign. Nobody will ever know how it would have worked out. Better to just concentrate on the players we do have and the small matter of a north London derby to worry about!

Are you gutted Arsenal missed out on Ibrahimovic? Get involved in the comments section.