Former Brazil international Edmilson has revealed how close he came to joining Arsenal a few years ago. 

After winning the World Cup with his country in 2002, the midfielder caught the eye of several big clubs around Europe.

And even though Arsene Wenger was successful in reaching an agreement with Edmilson at the time, the move failed to materialize.

“I played for five-and-a-half years in Sao Paolo so moving was part of a whole process, who won the Copa Libertadores and were world champions,” Edmilson said as quoted by the Daily Star

“2000 was when I went to Europe. I already had an offer from Arsenal. A pre-contract was signed with them but I had some issues with my documentation so I did not go and instead I went to Lyon.”

According to the Brazilian, who later joined Barcelona, he found a move to the Ligue 1 side to be more attractive back then.

“Lyon had a project and they were about to play for the first time in the Champions League.” he added

“They had the dream of building a team to win that competition and the French league.

“I had stayed for a long time in Sao Paulo and I decided to join Lyon. It was a safe bet!”

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