Arsenal have been linked with an unlikely move for Kylian Mbappe, but this is not the first time they have tried to sign a world superstar.
Mbappe is one of the best players in the world, and a World Cup superstar, and Mikel Arteta has recently claimed that Arsenal should be in the conversation when signing players of his calibre.
The club has signed some superstars over the years including Dennis Bergkamp, but their biggest coup of all could have come in 1982 when they nearly signed Diego Maradona.
Maradona had not yet become the legend of the game he developed into, but was still a high-profile name for Argentina and Boca Juniors, and had featured in all five games of his country’s 1982 World Cup campaign.
Diego Maradona was a fan of Arsenal
After his playing days were over, Maradona admitted in 2008 that he was a fan of Arsenal and the way they were playing under Arsene Wenger.
“They play beautiful football. They break quickly – they defend and attack as one. I am a fan of Arsenal when I am in England,” he stated.
“When I was 19 they tried to buy me and another player from Argentinos Juniors – around the time Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles signed for Tottenham.
“But it didn’t happen. I sometimes wonder what might have happened.”
Why Diego Maradona’s move to Arsenal fell through
The time of Arsenal’s interest came when there was political tension between England and Argentina, and the FA acted to block what could have been a record-breaking deal.
League Secretary at the time Graham Kelly was eager to ensure that clubs could not sign players from outside the European Economic Community for two years, and that they would not be granted work permits, which ultimately blocked the move.
“Diego Maradona, the £4million Argentina superstar admitted last night: ‘I want to play for Arsenal,’ a newspaper report at the time revealed.
“Maradona, who is reported to earn a staggering £7,500 a week with Boca Juniors, broke his silence on a possible move to Highbury which had been set up by former Luton and Sheffield United manager Harry Haslam.”
“Haslam has been acting as an Arsenal spy in South America but as he travelled back to London with his report the Football Association vowed to block any move by Arsenal to bring Maradona to England.
“League secretary Graham Kelly confirmed that the Management Committee didn’t want foreign players from outside the EEC being granted a work permit for two years.”
Maradona therefore could not join Arsenal, and he subsequently moved to Barcelona, where he spent two years before his move to Napoli, where he truly became a legend beyond his Argentina exploits.
Arsenal could have signed a footballing legend
Maradona went on to score 115 times in 259 games for Napoli, and by the time he retired, he was regarded as one of the all-time greats of the game.
Many regard him at least on a level, if not greater, than Pele and Lionel Messi, but like those two, he never played in England.
He was clearly interested in gracing the pitches at Highbury, and many will wonder how differently the 1980s could have gone for Arsenal if they had the superstar attacker within their ranks.
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