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In today's Arsenal news roundup, we have the latest as Lyon midfielder opens up about his failed summer transfer to Arsenal, Arsene Wenger reveals how close he was to signing Cristiano Ronaldo at the North London outfit, and more.
Houssem Aouar opens up about failed Arsenal move
Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar has opened up about his failed move to Arsenal in the recently concluded summer transfer window. The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for the French midfielder and even had a couple of bids rejected by Lyon for Aouar.
However, in the end all the parties could not agree on favourable terms for a transfer and the deal was called off. Arsenal were not the only club said to be interested in signing the 22-year-old midfielder, with Juventus and Manchester City also linked with a move for Aouar. Speaking in a recent interview, Aouar said:
"I spoke a lot with Juninho. He shows me his confidence every day: it’s a real pleasure to work with him.
"To stay here for another season, or more, with him, it’s a great pride."
"It wasn’t necessarily Arsenal or nothing else, even though at the end it was basically that. I had to make a decision and I am happy to stay here."
Arsene Wenger reveals how close Cristiano Ronaldo was to signing for Arsenal
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spilled the beans on one of the biggest signings that he was close to making but just couldn't get over the line. The Frenchman has previously revealed that he was close to signing many world beaters including Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Kylian Mbappe, among others.
However, Wenger has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo was probably the closest of them all to signing for the club, with the Frenchman having had lunch with the then Portuguese wonderkid and his mother.
The Frenchman added that Manchester United swooped in at the last moment and outbid the Gunners to complete the signing of the sensation. Wenger said:
"Oof! I would say there is not one player, there are 50 [I regret not signing]! On the other hand, maybe the closest was Cristiano Ronaldo, when he signed for Man United.
"We had an agreement with Sporting and Man United took Carlos Queiroz as assistant coach, and they just outbid us quickly and took Ronaldo. But we had an agreement basically.
"He had the shirt of Arsenal, I had lunch with him and his mother at the training ground! It’s one example but there were so many. The history of a big club is full of missed great players!"
Mesut Ozil rejects move to Saudi Arabia
Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil has rejected a lucrative offer to move to Saudi Arabia, according to reports. However, it has now been indicated that the German midfielder rejected the move because of the 'diplomatic issues' between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Ozil is close to Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, and has rejected the move out of respect for the country.
