Mohammed Kudus has been discussing his favourite players, and one of them was a huge talent who Arsenal actually failed to sign many years ago.
The Gunners have infamously missed out on some big-name players down the years, with Cristiano Ronaldo being one of them.
Before signing for Manchester United, Ronaldo said he ‘came within a whisker’ of signing for the North London club.
The Portuguese legend is just one of several players Arsenal have failed to land, and Kudus has just been speaking very highly of another star.
Mohammed Kudus picks Yaya Toure ahead of Mo Salah
Mohammed Kudus has picked Yaya Toure ahead of Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah as the greatest ever African player.
When asked by TNT Sports for his favourite African player of all time, the Tottenham winger said: “I like Yaya Toure, so I will go with him.”
Toure was close to signing for the North London club during Arsene Wenger’s tenure as manager, but the deal never went through.
Back in 2003, Toure had a trial at Arsenal, but the French manager was unconvinced by the Ivorian, who actually played as a striker during a friendly against Barnet.
Wenger later described him as a ‘top-class player’ and said he could play ‘everywhere’, but on the day, the former Barcelona star was ‘completely average’.
The former Arsenal boss also admitted that issues with Toure’s work permit were another reason why the North London club failed to land him.
Arsenal’s top five worst failed transfers
Ronaldo’s failed move to Highbury has to be the biggest miss for the Gunners, but along with Toure, he is just one of many.
In a report from Sky Sports, Wenger claimed to have met with Ronaldinho about joining Arsenal, but he later joined Paris Saint-Germain instead.
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Ronaldinho
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Luis Suarez
- Kylian Mbappe
Meanwhile, back in 2000, Ibrahimovic rejected Arsenal after being asked to do a trial, to which he claims he said, “I don’t do trials. Either you want me or you don’t.”
Another failed transfer was when Arsenal bid £40m plus £1 for Luis Suarez, which Liverpool eventually rejected in 2013.
Finally, Kylian Mbappe rejected Arsenal back in 2013, with the World Cup winner instead opting to sign for AS Monaco.
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