Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is understood to have turned down a cut-price deal to sign duo N’Golo Kante and Thomas Lemar prior to their moves to Leicester City and AS Monaco respectively in 2015.
The pair had been plying their trade with French club Caen when Wenger was approached, but the 67-year-old decided to look elsewhere after snubbing a combined £12.5m package for the proposed transfer, The Sun reports.
Kante followed to link up with Leicester City for a lowly fee of £5.6m in the summer of 2015 while Lemar joined Monaco for a lesser sum of £2m in the same transfer window.
The former has since gone on to lift his maiden league title with the Foxes after which he moved on to Chelsea where he looks on course to achieve a similar feat this term.
On the other hand, Lemar has managed to put a series of impressive performances for the Principality outfit, who are likely to end their long wait for the Ligue 1 crown this season.
Arsene Wenger has missed out on key targets over the years due to his reluctance to take a gamble, and it appears to have gone on to haunt him once again.
In a report in The Sun, French football expert Gilles Favard reveals that Wenger passed on the potential Ligue 1 signings despite being offered at a bargain price.
“We all know the story,” he told. “Two years ago he [Wenger] had a deal for Thomas Lemar and N’Golo Kante for €15m [£12.6m].”
Arsene Wenger has received strong criticism from a section of the club’s faithful following the club’s lacklustre league campaign this term. But despite this, he is due to sign a fresh extension which will keep him in north London for at least another season.
Arsenal are currently seven points off a potential top-four position, but they still have hope of achieving their target, should they maintain a winning streak until the end of the season.
