Burnley left-back Quilindschy Hartman has confirmed that Arsenal were interested in signing him before his long-term knee injury at Feyenoord.
The Netherlands international is presently on a season-long loan at Espanyol from the Clarets.
In an exclusive interview with AS, the 24-year-old covered several topics, and one of those was centred on the reported interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
The Dutchman was asked whether the Gunners and Blues were interested in signing him before he suffered a serious knee injury at Feyenoord in 2024.
Hartman acknowledged that was the case, but he is still comfortable with his career thus far.
He said: “Yes. That’s life. But going to one place or another doesn’t mean I’ve had better luck.
“I think we all have a plan that’s already been written. I never think about what I could have had, because my life is already perfect.”
Arsenal have particularly prioritised the left-back department over the past couple of years.
They brought in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna in the summer of 2024, and added Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen last year on loan with an option to buy, which was triggered.
Calafiori has made the position his own in league matches this season. He has had a fine start to the campaign and has already made four goal contributions across all competitions.
With Calafiori, Hincapie and club graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal have tremendous depth and quality in the left-back department and look secure for the long term in the position.
Meanwhile, Hartman made a good impression with Feyenoord. He had seven assists during the 2023/24 season and also broke into the Netherlands squad, registering a goal and an assist.
However, his progress was stalled by a serious knee injury in March 2024, which kept him out of action for 10 months. He eventually moved to England with the Clarets in June last year.
He was not a consistent starter for them but still registered five assists in 23 appearances. Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League ultimately led to his loan move to Espanyol last summer.
Hartman has been in and out of Espanyol’s playing XI so far, and it remains to be seen where his future lies next season. Burnley could well cash in on his services at the end of the campaign.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com