Add N'Golo Kante to the list of players Arsene Wenger tried to sign at Arsenal and didn't
If there is a great player somewhere in the world, Arsenal tried to sign him. That's just kind of their thing. Arsene Wenger tries to convince Player X to come to the Emirates, Player X signs elsewhere, when Player X is lighting things up, Wenger remarks that he once tried to sign Player X.
This time around, Player X is N'Golo Kante.
Kante is proving himself to be the most influential midfielder in the Premier League for the second season in a row. Last year, he helped Leicester win the title and now he has helped Chelsea to a nine-point lead atop the table. He's a menace and, ahead of Saturday's clash between Arsenal and Chelsea, Wenger couldn't say enough good things about Kante. He made it clear that it was no coincidence that the best teams in the league the last two seasons had featured the Frenchman.
And when asked whether he had tried to sign Kante ...
"Yes," Wenger said. "When he was in France. When he was at Leicester."
Arsenal have long lacked a world-class defensive midfielder — it got so bad that Gunners fans tried to convince themselves Francis Coquelin could be that man — so it's no wonder they went for Kante. And it's also perfectly on brand that they couldn't land him.
Now add Kante to this list:
Those are all great players Wenger or the player have confirmed they tried to sign, but couldn't get. And now Kante is on the list too.
If you're great, bet on Arsenal coming for you. Just don't bet on them signing you.
