Gunners bench Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has revealed that the difficulty in completing transfer deals is why certain players have failed to arrive at clubs they were linked to.

Ahead of the summer, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Morgan Schneiderlin were at the top of the list of players who were bound for Arsenal.

However, the duo and other stars who were once odds-on to join the Gunners have found new clubs elsewhere as Inter Milan welcomed Kondogbia while Schneiderlin joined Manchester United.

Despite the high-profile recruits of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech, Arsenal have been associated with a number of failed high-profile signings over the years with Gonzalo Higuain’s move to Napoli in 2013 the most notable.

https://i0.wp.com/www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/scaled/711x400/mar_14/gun__1396002728_toure_yaya_arsenal.jpg?resize=711%2C400

In 2003, Yaya Toure failed to join Arsenal despite completing a trial with the club

But Wenger insists that the process of finishing a transfer deal is more complex than what is suggested in newspapers.

“It is hard, believe me, to get a deal over the line. It’s difficult as well if you’re not completely inside the deal, to know what happens,” the Arsenal boss said

“Did the player not want to go?”

There were no reports of an official Arsenal bid for the likes Kondogbia and Schneiderlin ahead their moves, but Wenger did express his interest in the Frenchmen during press-conferences.

More players have been linked to the Gunners as transfer deadline day edges closer, but Wenger claims he is unfazed by pressure from the public to make new signings.

“If I just listen to people’s opinion, many players who have signed here starting with Vieira, Anelka and Henry would never have signed here at the end of the day. I have to make the decisions.” he added

For more updates about the Arsenal squad, you can follow us on twitter.

Be the first to receive breaking news about Arsenal!