Arsenal have had so many players over the years that you can sometimes lose track of the ones who never quite made it through the gates at London Colney.
The Gunners have such a wide scouting network that players from all over the globe have found their way to The Emirates over time.
Of course, some succeed and some simply fall flat on their faces.
However, one former striker who would have been interesting to watch in an Arsenal shirt is former Barcelona man, Maxi Lopez.
Indeed, the Argentinian has now admitted that while he was with Catania, he was blocked from a big move abroad.
Maxi Lopez claims he was blocked from signing for Arsenal
Maxi Lopez was one of those strikers who always threatened to be one of the best in Europe but fell short of ever being a prolific marksman.
He played with Lionel Messi at Barcelona in the mid-2000s but after leaving for a spell in Russia, he found his way around Serie A for the rest of his career.
However, while scoring the goals at Catania, Lopez has claimed he was promised a move, with Arsenal among the teams who wanted him.
“I told the owner, “You asked me for eight goals. I’m going to score even more than that, we’re going to avoid relegation”—because at the time we were bottom of the league—“but when the season ends, you have to sell me to a big club,” Lopez told The Clank podcast.
“He shook my hand and said, “If you score more goals, I’ll sell you to a big club.”
“Well, I scored 11 goals, we stayed up, everything went well.
“Then, over the next two years, Arsenal came in, Tottenham came in, Schalke—who were playing in the Champions League at the time—Juventus came in, Fiorentina too… and he still didn’t sell me. Every transfer window came and went, and he wouldn’t let me leave.
“At one point I just mentally broke down, you know? And I said, “I don’t want to play here anymore.”
Clearly, Lopez was a player with talent and you don’t have the career he had without being a good footballer.
At the time of this claim in 2010/11, a move to Arsenal would have seen him line up alongside the likes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin.
Whether or not he would have been good enough to break into that team, we can only speculate.
However, it’s still interesting to look back and hear of a player who Arsenal wanted. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to be for Lopez but it makes you wonder how many other deals fall by the wayside.
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