Young players are enigmatic, volatile, and unproven. Shrouded in uncertainty, managers can’t be blamed for failing to recognize the potential of a bright youngster or two.
However, Arsenal’s board, Arsene Wenger, and their myopic scouts have made themselves notorious for failing to sign future superstars. Here are just a few of the many starlets that slid through the clutches of Arsenal and on to much greater things:
1. Vincent Kompany (Age: 20)
After strutting his stuff with Anderlecht in Belgium, some of Europe’s biggest clubs were after the young Vincent Kompany. The starlet’s agent had meetings with Madrid, Barcelona, and Arsenal.
Vincent’s agent felt as though he needed to go somewhere where the impressionable player would feel valued and could gain crucial experience on the pitch. Having brushed off three of the world’s biggest clubs, Kompany decided to sign with Hamburg before shipping off to England just two years later.
2. Paul Pogba (Age: 16 & 19)
If there’s one thing Wenger did well, it’s that he signed French players. His record of signing great French players includes Patrick Vieira, Laurent Koscielny, Nicolas Anelka, and of course Thierry Henry.
Despite his strong connections with France, Wenger was bested twice in his attempts to sign Paul Pogba. Having had eyes for the player since his time with Le Havre, Arsene tried to lure him over in 2009 but not before the Theatre of Dreams would hypnotize Pogba.
In 2012, Pogba was once again making moves. His three-year period with United didn’t play out as both parties had wanted so he found himself packing yet again. An offer of half a million pounds would see the player join Juventus and go on to become one of the best midfielders in Europe.
When asked what had happened Wenger responded that things transpired too quickly for his club to sign the promising midfielder.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Age: 18)
In 2003, the future 5-time Ballon d’Or winner walked the halls of Highbury with Wenger in tow. The two spoke about what Ronaldo’s role would look like at Arsenal and his trajectory towards becoming a formidable winger.
By the end of the visit, Ronaldo walked out of Highbury with an Arsenal jersey with his name on the back. With a bid of €4 million already accepted by Sporting Lisbon, the winger only had to agree to personal terms.
Yet in the waning hours, the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz – who was Fergie’s assistant at the time – convinced the young gun to play at Old Trafford. After an impressive friendly against United, the Manchester club promptly made a bid of £12 million for the youngster’s services.
The pairing of Henry and Ronaldo surely would’ve yielded trophies from all over Europe, yet sadly, the mouth-watering tandem would never be.
4. Lionel Messi (Age: 16)
The only spurned signing that hurts more than Ronaldo is Lionel Messi. In 2003, Wenger tried to sign a promising trio from Barcelona’s La Masia. Thinking that he wouldn’t see much time in Catalonia, Cesc made the difficult decision to leave home and head for England.
Gerard Pique and the precocious Lionel Messi, however, found Barcelona too cosy to leave at such a young age.
Some within the media will tell you that Arsenal’s failure to find a home for Messi’s family led to the failure of the deal.
But Wenger believes that Messi simply had finally made himself comfortable in a foreign country and wasn’t ready to uproot himself so soon after settling in Spain.
Had Messi pledged his allegiance to Arsenal at 16 and showed the same commitment he’s shown Barcelona, Wenger wouldn’t currently be having a three-quarters life existential crisis.