Arsenal transfer target once failed his medical, but Arsene Wenger signed him anyway

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal have experienced some transfer blunders in their history.

Raheem Sterling endured a torrid season at the Emirates Stadium on loan from Chelsea and featured among Mikel Arteta’s worst Arsenal signings.

Every club experiences transfers that don’t quite work out how they were anticipated and Arsenal’s worst XI of the 21st century prominently features players that failed to deliver on their promise.

However, amid news of Martin Zubimendi’s medical at Arsenal, we look back at the extraordinary case when Arsene Wenger signed a player despite medical issues causing him to fail his Gunners medical.

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta questioned by Thierry Henry over latest Arsenal ‘disappointment’ as trophy point made

Arsene Wenger signed Kim Kallstrom despite failed Arsenal medical

As per the Mirror, Wenger admitted signing Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom back in 2014 despite Arsenal’s medical staff flagging that he had a fractured vertebrae.

Wenger stated: “I’m sure that, if you’ve played football, you might have played with a micro fracture of a vertebra without knowing you had it. You don’t even notice it.

“It crossed my mind (not to complete the deal), but I would not have signed him if we’d had two or three more days to do something. It was 5pm on Friday night, so it was sign him or nobody.

“Spartak are paying his wages for the first six weeks. We thought it would be four to six weeks.

“There is a possibility for every single player that they will not play – but there’s also the chance he scores a winning goal that’s vitally important. We will only know if we’re wrong or right at the end of the season.”

How Kim Kallstrom’s Arsenal career turned out amid failed medical

Kallstrom did end up featuring for Arsenal towards the end of the 2014 campaign and played an important part in the club ending their nine-year trophy drought.

The midfielder scored in the FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out victory over Wigan Athletic to set up a final with Hull City, where Aaron Ramsey scored the winner in extra time.

Featuring for just 138 minutes over his four appearances for the Gunners, Kallstrom told Arsenal’s official website that he still found his time at the club ‘special.’

Kallstrom explained: “My time at Arsenal was very special for me and even though it was very short, I see it as a couple of months of great fun.

“It’s a time that really made my career a little better, a little funnier and it’s given me some great stories to tell. I met some great people, worked for a great coach and got to play for an incredible club.”