Arsenal famously missed out on several legends of the game under Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners memorably took Yaya Toure on trial before a deal failed to materialise, and also had the chance to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic – before the Swede became insulted at the offer of a trial instead of a contract.
Arsene Wenger also had a chance to sign a player for Arsenal who went on to win two Premier League titles in Joleon Lescott – only for the move to collapse over the sake of £2m.
Joleon Lescott says he could have joined Arsenal
The 43-year-old may not be as alluring a name as Toure or Ibrahimovic, but he was still a top player.
Lescott can boast 288 Premier League appearances, in which he won two titles at Manchester City as well as the FA Cup and League Cup following a £22m move from Everton in August 2009.
However, the man born in Birmingham could have joined Arsenal from Wolves instead of Everton in the summer of 2006, although Wenger did not see value in the £5m fee.
Speaking on the Beast Mode On podcast, Lescott – who admires Gabriel Magalhaes – told Adebayo Akinfenwa: “At the time it was only Everton.
“It was funny – there was even a chance of me going to Arsenal, but when I signed my new deal, Arsenal wouldn’t pay the £5m. They only wanted to pay £3m – they said I was only worth three.”
Arsenal ended up signing William Gallas on a free transfer from Chelsea in that summer of 2006 to bolster the backline instead for Wenger – who also missed out on Cristiano Ronaldo and N’Golo Kante in north London.
Joleon Lescott has already admitted he considered rejecting Arsenal
The man with 26 caps for England has actually discussed his talks with Arsenal previously on the That Peter Crouch Podcast, where he suggested he would have rejected the Gunners anyway due to concerns over his playing time.
Lescott cast doubt over a move to Arsenal, telling Crouch in October 2023: “I could have potentially gone to Arsenal, but like, was I going to Arsenal to play?
“I’d be learning stuff but I wanted to play… so there was more opportunity for me at that kind of team (Everton).”
Lescott never looked back, becoming a two-time Premier League winner with Manchester City and an England regular during the height of his career, even scoring against France at UEFA Euro 2012.