The one that got away 🤦🏻‍♂️: Yaya Touré to Arsenal | OneFootball

Arsenal have a long history of nearly signings under Arsène Wenger.

Zlatan Ibrahimović turned down a trial, they wanted Lionel Messi to join with Cesc Fábregas and Cristiano Ronaldo was swept away at the last minute by Manchester United.

Another name on that list was Yaya Touré, who actually donned the club’s jersey in a pre-season friendly against Barnet in 2003.

Wenger had been aware of Touré when the Ivorian was just 15, tracking his progress at Belgian side Beveren before inviting him to London.

The future Champions League winner was only 20 when handed the chance to impress – and he didn’t have to look far for inspiration.

His older brother Kolo had earned a contract with Arsenal one year earlier and quickly established himself within the first-team side.

Things didn’t quite go to plan.

Touré played well in midfield but was moved further up at half-time – almost as a secondary striker – which saw his influence wane completely.

He also missed a header from four yards out which contributed to Wenger describing his performance as “completely average”.

Despite an underwhelming display against Barnet, the Frenchman was still interested in signing the midfielder but any potential deal would falter over work permit problems.

“Yaya Touré is a top-class player,” Wenger later revealed in 2011. “We knew that at the time.

“The only problem was to fix him into a position because he can play everywhere.

“And before we could apply for his passport application, he moved to Ukraine (Metalurh Donetsk) so we lost the deal.”

Football is full of sliding doors moments like this.

There’s no guarantee that Touré would have developed into the player we remember at Barcelona or Manchester City, as different environments and coaches impact careers.

But with Patrick Vieira flirting with an exit and Fábregas coming through – imagine building your midfield around those two.

The Ivorian went onto win two LaLiga titles, three Premier League titles, one Champions League and many more domestic trophies elsewhere … and how things could have been different.